Rider injured as police officer hurls baton at him

During helmet check on Parippally-Madathara road

A motorcyclist lost control of his vehicle on being hit by a policeman’s baton and the motorbike collided with a car at Kadakkal on Thursday.

A week after the Kerala High Court issued a stern warning against forceful measures to apprehend two-wheeler riders who do not wear helmets, a police officer allegedly hurled a baton at a motorcyclist for purportedly refusing to stop during a vehicle checking in Kollam on Thursday.

The motorcyclist, Siddique, 22, of Chithara, lost control of his vehicle on being hit by the baton and collided with a car that came from the opposite direction.

Siddique sustained serious injuries and has been admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital here.

Officer suspended

While a civil police officer attached to the Kadakkal police station has been suspended, pending enquiry, State Police Chief Loknath Behera has ordered a detailed probe into the incident that occurred along the Parippally-Madathara road at Kadakkal around 11.30 a.m.

The youth was returning from the Kadakkal police station, where he had gone to complete his passport verification. Chandramohanan, the suspended officer, was part of a nine-member control room team that also comprised officers and personnel attached to the Armed Reserve police.

He purportedly used his baton to flag down vehicles during the inspection which, eyewitnesses claimed, was conducted on a road curve. The police officer allegedly threw his baton on Siddique after he passed by the control room vehicle without a helmet.

He was soon rushed to the Kadakkal taluk hospital in a police jeep and was later referred to the Medical College Hospital where he is being treated in the intensive care unit. He sustained injuries on his head and legs, but his condition was stable, official sources said.

Protests

The incident evoked widespread outrage with numerous people laying siege to the road, disrupting traffic for over an hour, until they were assured of an impartial probe and stringent action against the erring officers.

Hari Sankar, Superintendent of Police, Kollam Rural, said Chandramohanan had been suspended on the basis of circumstantial evidence as well as preliminary inference. The Punalur Dy.SP has been tasked with conducting a detailed enquiry into the incident.

Mr. Sankar said the enquiry would examine if there were other lapses, including in the manner in which the vehicle check was conducted.

He, however, dismissed allegations that the police team had abandoned the injured youth at the Kadakkal taluk hospital.