Despite the state's progressive image, incidents of police brutality, especially targeting marginalised communities, have surfaced time and again.
Published May 21, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 11, 2025 | 9:19 AM
Kerala Police. (iStock)
Synopsis: Kerala has been witnessing a spate of custodial torture incidents, particularly against individuals from marginalised communities. Despite the recurrence of such cases, no significant action has been taken by the authorities concerned, leaving victims in distress.
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan, after the state learned about the harassment and humiliation a Dalit woman faced at a police station in Thiruvananthapuram — underscoring a disturbing pattern of custodial harassment that continues to haunt Kerala.
Despite the state’s progressive image, incidents of police brutality, especially targeting marginalised communities, have surfaced time and again.
The recent case of Bindu R, a Dalit domestic worker from Thiruvananthapuram, is yet another painful reminder. Detained for nearly 20 hours at the Peroorkada Police Station over a false theft charge, Bindu alleged she was denied food, forced to drink water from a washroom, and coerced into confessing under threats to implicate her minor daughters.
No stolen item was recovered from her, but she was still booked. The complaint was eventually withdrawn after her employer found the gold — which they had alleged Bindu had stolen — in their own house.
Bindu has now approached the chief minister, the State Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST) Commission, and the Police Complaints Authority in search of justice.
Bindu, a 39-year-old domestic worker from Panavoor earning ₹500 a day, alleged custodial abuse and neglect by officials after being falsely accused of theft.
Supporting her two teenage daughters and husband through household work, Bindu had recently joined the home of Omana Daniel. Just three days into the job, she was named a suspect in the disappearance of an 18-gram gold chain.
On 23 April, while waiting for a bus near Kowdiar, she received a call from the police summoning her to the station. Despite asserting her innocence, she was allegedly strip-searched by women officers and verbally abused. A male officer, she claims, used threatening language and warned her family would be targeted if she didn’t confess.
Bindu told South First that, as part of the humiliation, she was even told to drink toilet water when she asked for some water to drink.
R Bindu. (Screnngrab)
Her phone was confiscated, and her house was searched using the complainant’s vehicle, but no evidence was found. Held overnight without food or water, she was released the next day, allegedly only after the complainant intervened. She also overheard station staff say the chain had already been recovered.
Bindu later approached the chief minister’s office (CMO) for help, accompanied by her lawyer. There, she alleges, the chief minister’s political secretary, P Sasi, dismissed her complaint without reviewing it, telling her to seek legal remedy instead.
The incident has drawn strong condemnation from Dalit rights groups and opposition parties, who criticised the indifference shown by the CMO.
ST/SC Commission member TK Vasu told South First that the commission is closely analysing the matter and will soon announce an independent probe.
In response to the public outcry, the Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner has ordered an inquiry. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) (Cantonment) has been tasked with submitting a detailed report.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Prasad SG has been suspended, and statements from other officers at the Peroorkada Police Station are being recorded.
Rajeev.
In another similar incident, the SC/ST Court in Kottarakkara ordered the registration of a case against former Thenmala Circle Inspector (CI) Vishwambharan and SI DJ Shalu for allegedly assaulting and caste-abusing a Dalit youngster, Rajeev, in February 2021.
The order, issued on 10 May 2025, noted prima facie evidence of custodial violence and caste-based abuse.
Rajeev had approached the Thenmala Police Station to file a complaint but was reportedly handcuffed, physically assaulted, and falsely implicated in a case. CI Vishwambharan was suspended for over a year, but SI Shalu was only transferred.
Following Rajeev’s complaint to the SC/ST Commission, the South Zone Inspector General (IG) withheld Shalu’s annual pay hike for a year. The Kerala High Court had earlier condemned the incident, calling it an instance of police brutality that should never have occurred.
Speaking to South First, Rajeev said, ”I can’t forget the humiliation I faced from the police officers, so I will continue the legal fight.” The case is still under judicial consideration.
Gokul.
On 6 April, two police officers from Kalpetta Police Station were suspended following a preliminary inquiry into the custodial death of Gokul, an 18-year-old tribal youngster.
Wayanad District Police Chief Taposh Basumatari ordered the suspension of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Deepa and Civil Police Officer (CPO) Sreejith for alleged negligence, as both were on duty when Gokul was found dead in the station’s washroom on 1 April.
He had been taken into custody, along with a missing minor girl, from Kozhikode on 31 March.
Though the postmortem ruled out physical torture, protests erupted over the police’s failure to ensure his safety. The state government ordered a Crime Branch probe, and the Kerala Human Rights Commission registered a case.
Advocate Kulathur Jaising, a high court lawyer and social activist who filed a petition under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, has alleged serious procedural lapses and unlawful detention.
The RTI response revealed that the Director General of Police (DGP) had recommended a CBI inquiry to ensure an impartial investigation, and the Home Department is currently reviewing the request. Now, the case is being investigated by the Crime Branch.
Ponnu Mathai
“They killed my brother, dumped him in a well, and covered his body with an asbestos sheet,” PP Wilson, brother of PP Mathai, a 41-year-old man from Vadasserikkara in Pathanamthitta, told South First.
“There was evidence, but the CBI sided with the forest department because of political pressure,” he added.
Mathai, also known as Ponnu Mathai, was taken into custody by forest officials over a missing camera trap. Hours later, his body was found in a well near his home. His family alleges he died in custody after being tortured by forest officials.
The incident triggered a 40-day protest by the family and locals, demanding justice. His body was buried on the 41st day, still shrouded in unanswered questions.
While seven forest officials were transferred and two suspended, the recent CBI report giving a clean chit to the department has devastated the family.
BJP National Council member Victor T Thomas, who supported the family, told South First, ”It was clearly a custodial death. I helped the family build a house, but they still wait for justice. The forest department’s brutality must be exposed.”
For Mathai’s family, the fight is not just for the truth, but for dignity in death.
Kuzhuvila Harikumar, the man who first reported the sighting of a tiger’s carcass near Ambukuthi in Ambalavayal, Wayanad, died by suicide in February 2023. His death has triggered outrage among residents and family members, who allege that sustained harassment by forest officials drove him to take his own life.
According to his wife, Usha, Harikumar had been summoned several times to the Meppadi Range Office for questioning after he reported the dead tiger. She alleged that forest officials threatened to implicate him in a criminal case, causing severe mental distress.
When South First contacted Sabu T, a friend of Harikumar, he firmly stated that the Forest Department’s harassment was the sole reason behind Harikumar’s suicide.
”There is no other explanation. The constant pressure and intimidation from forest officials broke him,” he said.
In protest, residents of the area blocked the highway, demanding accountability and immediate action against those responsible for the alleged mental torture Harikumar endured.
Justice K Narayana Kurup
Meanwhile, Justice K Narayana Kurup, former acting chief justice of the Madras High Court and former chairman of the Kerala State Police Complaints Authority, spoke to South First about systemic failures in handling custodial violence.
Recalling the 2019 Nedumkandam custodial death of Rajkumar, he said, ”In the autopsy report, the head of the forensic medicine department stated that the cause of death was pneumonia. However, when I consulted my friends who are doctors, doubts arose. The deceased was seen by a doctor just two days before his death, and no signs of pneumonia were diagnosed.”
Kurup ordered a second autopsy, which he supervised, and it revealed 22 deep contusions on the victim’s thigh, likely caused by iron rods.
“The police believed Rajkumar had a large sum of money and tortured him to extract it,” he noted. His inquiry led to the conclusion that Rajkumar died due to custodial assault, and he directed ₹15 lakh as compensation and the dismissal of the responsible officers.
Kurup emphasised the need for police reform and judicial intervention, stating, “There is a breakdown in the system. The police force requires both reform and enhanced training.”
Referring to the recent Peroorkkada custodial harassment case, he questioned why the Police Complaints Authority has remained silent, even as the Human Rights Commission stepped in.
K Sasidharan, President of the Thenmala panchayat, offered a differing viewpoint on recent custodial harassment allegations involving Dalit individuals.
Referring to the case of Thenmala Rajeev, Sasidharan told South First,” There is another perspective. The SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, though meant to safeguard Dalits, is often misused.”
He defended the police officers implicated in Rajeev’s case, saying, ”I personally know the officers involved. Yes, they hit him, and that’s wrong and punishable. But I am certain they did not abuse him using any casteist slur.”
Echoing similar concerns, a high court lawyer, who is also an office bearer of the Ernakulam Bar Association, told South First, ”We are witnessing an increasing number of cases where laws meant to protect Dalits from atrocities are being deliberately misused.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
