Pathanamthitta: Three police officials from the Pathanamthitta station were suspended on Tuesday following an unprovoked lathi charge on a family returning from a wedding reception. Thiruvananthapuram Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ajeetha Beegum issued the order based on a report from the district Superintendent of Police (SP). The officials suspended are Sub Inspector Jinu JU and Civil Police Officers (CPOs) Jobin and Ashfak Rasheed.

The incident happened on Tuesday night when five members of a family from Thulappally, Erumeli, were assaulted by police near the Pathanamthitta bus stand. According to the suspension order, the officers displayed indiscipline by confronting Shijin, Sreejith, Sithara, and Arun while they were standing in front of the Heyday Bar at Aban Junction, Pathanamthitta town. The order states that the police used “lathis” and “lashed out” at the individuals “without inquiring” about the incident that had taken place there. The DIG noted that the incident tarnished the police force’s image in the public eye, especially through visual media. As a result, the officers were suspended with immediate effect.

The DIG has also ordered the Deputy Superintendent of Police, District Crime Branch, Pathanamthitta, to investigate the matter.

Sithara Mol CT, 32, suffered a fractured shoulder and leg injuries, while her husband, Sreejith, sustained a head wound. Other family members—Shijin, Ajith, and Ajay—were also injured. Pathanamthitta police have registered a case following a complaint from Sithara Mol.

The family had travelled in a private vehicle to attend the wedding reception of their relative, Suchitha, at Ezham Mile in Adoor. By 10 pm, they reached the Pathanamthitta bus stand to drop off a woman from their group waiting for her husband to arrive from Chengara. While five of them stepped out of the vehicle, a police team, including officers in mufti, arrived in an official vehicle and launched a sudden assault.