Kerala | Dalit woman alleges custodial harassment in police station; Accuses CMO of inaction

Vartha Bharati | 19-05-2025 | 13:56:00 IST

Representational image (Manorama)

Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A 39-year-old Dalit woman has made serious allegations against the police and the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), citing a theft case registered against her that was later proven to be false.

The woman, a local domestic help, alleged that she had to suffer acute mental torture and harassment in the custody of police in Peroorkada station here last month after the owner of the house, where she was working, lodged a complaint that she had stolen their gold chain.

While revealing her harrowing experience to the television channels here on Monday, the woman said that though she handed over a complaint in this regard to CM's political secretary P Sasi with the help of a lawyer, he didn't even bother to read it and asked her to approach the court.

Following the Dalit woman's allegations, the opposition Congress intensely criticised the CMO and demanded stern action against the errant police officers at Peroorkkada station.

According to the woman, she received a phone call from the Peroorkkada Station on April 23 evening asking her to reach there at the earliest.

At the station, the owner of the house and her daughter were present, and police told the woman that their chain was missing and asked her to give it back.

"I told them a thousand times that I didn't steal the chain, but they didn't trust me. A woman police officer took me to a room and removed my top and examined me. I was then taken to my house, where they searched. I was not allowed to talk to my family even over the phone," she alleged.

She said an FIR was lodged against her, and she was kept at the station the whole night, and they even questioned her in the early hours of the next day.

"I was not given food or water... not allowed to sleep. When I asked for drinking water, a police officer told me to go to the toilet and drink. They continuously used objectionable language and even threatened to implicate my teenage daughters in a police case if I did not confess to the theft," the weeping woman further charged.

She said the next morning, the house owner and her daughter were seen rushing to the police station again and held talks with the circle inspector for some time.

"They later told me that they were giving forgiveness to me. Police also told me that I could go home, as the house owner had no complaint. But a policeman later told my husband that the house owner found the missing gold chain from their house itself," she added.

Besides the CMO, she lodged a complaint with the state DGP and the state SC/ ST Commission seeking action against the police personnel for their alleged inhuman custodial treatment.

"I went to Secretariat and handed over a complaint to a sir at the chief minister's office. My advocate told me that he was P Sasi, the CM's political secretary. He didn't read the complaint...just put it there," she said.

The woman further said Sasi told her that the house owner would naturally give a complaint if their chain was missing, and police would act.

"He told me that all these matters should be said in court," she told the media.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan demanded a departmental enquiry and stern action against the errant police officers of the Peroorkkada station for mentally torturing the Dalit woman for over 20 hours over a false case.

In a statement, Satheesan said the CM and the Home Department could not justify the incident as an isolated issue.

Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan termed the incident as "inhuman" and said the progressive society cannot accept this at any cost.

"Stringent action should be taken against the injustice and harassment suffered by the Dalit woman," he told the media on Monday.

Congress sources said KPCC Chief Sunny Joseph would visit the Dalit woman's house in Chullimanoor here later in the day.

The Chief Minister's Office, however, rejected the allegations, stating that the Political Secretary had received her complaint and immediately directed the police to take action.

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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police

13-12-2025 ¦ 13-12-2025 IST

Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi (PTI)

Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.

The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.

Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.

"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.

Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.

As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.

"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.

There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.

The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.

The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.

The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.

After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.

Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.

Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.

To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.

In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.

Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.