Thiruvananthapuram: Four personnel from the Fort Police Station were suspended on Friday following allegations of custodial violence. Those suspended include grade SI Sreekumar and police officers Sunil, Sijukumar, and Girish. The action followed an inquiry by the Fort assistant commissioner, which reviewed CCTV footage related to the incident.
Officials said the footage indicated that Jinu Baby, an accused in a motorcycle theft case, was assaulted while in custody. He had been taken into custody in Kochi and later brought to Thiruvananthapuram. The grade SI was suspended after it was found that he had pulled the accused by the hair while the latter was lying inside the lock-up.
The inquiry also found discrepancies in official records, with documents reportedly altered to show that Jinu was arrested in Thiruvananthapuram despite having been detained earlier in Kochi. The city police commissioner has ordered a departmental inquiry against the officers for allegedly preparing false records, TNIE reported.
According to police sources, the case relates to the theft of a motorcycle parked outside a hotel in Thiruvananthapuram. Jinu Baby, described by the police as a repeat offender, was identified using CCTV footage. Based on information shared by the Fort police, a DANSAF team in Kochi apprehended him and later handed him over to the Thiruvananthapuram police.
However, the inquiry reportedly found that Jinu was assaulted inside the vehicle while being transported from Kochi and was again attacked at the police station in Thiruvananthapuram. He is currently undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital and remains in critical condition.
Hospital sources said he had to undergo emergency surgery due to kidney damage and sustained injuries to his kidneys and muscles. Another accused in the case, Unni, was also reported to have suffered injuries.