The cop while hurting their genitals said "Now, you won't be able to give birth to more Muslims
Lawyer recalls ordeal of two Muslim youths in police custody in Palakkad, police deny allegations
Palakkad: On 24 August, a team of police officers led by local SI Sudheesh Kumar, barged into the house of Abdurrahman (18) and Bilal (20) to question them in connection with the physical assault case on RSS worker.
They were later taken into custody and were allegedly tortured in the police custody so much so that Abdurrahman was in hospital for over a week, suffering from serious injuries due to the torture on his genitals, thighs, chest and legs.
In a report published in twocircles.net the advocate of the two brothers, Advocate Mohammed Rashid has recalled how the duo was tortured and had to face the police brutality in the custody. Rashid has also added that the two brothers were unaware of the physical assault on RSS worker and had asserted that they were innocent, to the police personnel.
“When sub-inspector Sudheesh Kumar’s team of nine officers barged into the house, not a single male family member was present. Their younger sister attempted to call her father, but the police threatened that they would pick her up too. They took the boys away without any intimation to the family members. When his family eventually came to know, they called up the police station, but the police denied keeping the youths in their custody.” The website has quoted Rashid as saying.
What transpired in the police custody and the kind of torture the two brother underwent presents a horrific picture of human rights violation by the police officers.
According to Rashid, Abdurrahman recalled his ordeal when he was released after 24-hours. Abdurrahman reportedly added that at least ten police officers started beating them on their feet. He also alleged that they were tied up and 150-200 lashes were inflicted on them. “They stood on his thighs and beat them on the head” Rashid added.
He continued to describe how the violence escalated. “Then, two police officers sat on their chests while the others used a cigarette lighter to burn their genitals. They even sprayed their private parts with pepper spray,” he said.
Equally condemnable was the motive behind torturing them, especially harming their genitals. SI Sudheesh Kumar revealed it himself. “Now, you will not be able to give birth to any more Muslims”, he is reported to have said while in the act.
Consequently, a video was made by Abdurrahman’s friends where he shared the gruesome details of the torture they had suffered. The Police hastened to strengthen the oppressive chokehold around Abdurrahman, this time by penalising his right to free speech. An FIR was slapped against him, on grounds of spreading fake news and communal disharmony, under Sec 153 (A).
Although he has been granted anticipatory bail by the Sessions Court Palakkad, Abdurrahman was dismissed from the hospital only on the 1 September, after being treated for multiple internal injuries and severe blood loss for over a week. Bilal was not granted bail in his hearing on 3 September, the report on the website stated.
“The boys’ mother Hajira has filed written complaints to the Kerala DGP, the CM, the Chairman of NHRC, Palakkad Superintendent of Police, and the District Collector. She expects justice to be delivered to her sons. SI Sudheesh Kumar and his team need to be punished for their crimes”, said Adv. Rashid.
Vartha Bharati spoke to the top police officials of the district to get their version of the story. District Police Chief G Siva Vikram was on leave and was unavailable to take calls when we called him. Palakkad Dy.SP, Manoj Kumar refused to discuss the case or share any related information with the media over phone call and added that the case can be discussed if we can come to his office in person.
District’s Additional Superintendent of Police, Prasob PB, however spoke briefly about the case and rubbished all the allegations labeled against his department. He added that the allegations were botched up against the police team and that the two brothers were not subjected to any torture or brutality in the police custody.
When asked why the two youngsters were picked up in the absence of any male family members and why their sister was threatened to be picked up too, the Addl. SP said “These are only allegations. There’s no truth to it”.
Regarding the boy being admitted to hospital for over one week, he said that is being looked into, and a report will be submitted in this regard adding further course of action will be decided, after the report is submitted.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.
Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.
"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.
"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.
"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.
The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.
"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.
Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).
Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.
