Kasaragod police allegedly attack Adivasi family while chasing wife-beater; ignore their complaint

Kasaragod: On January 26, as India celebrated its 76th Republic Day, Kerala Police barged into the house of a mason from the Malavettuvan Scheduled Tribe community in Kasaragod's Bekal and allegedly assaulted him, his daughter, and another female relative, initially mistaking him for a suspected wife beater in the neighbourhood.

Though Kannan B K (58), a heart patient, and his daughter Sinija B K (33) lodged complaints with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and District Police Chief Shilpa Dyavaiah on January 27, they went public with their grievance on Tuesday, February 11.

Bekal police confirmed that Sub-Inspector Ajay S Menon, who is on probation, entered Kannan’s house but claimed it was Kannan who assaulted, abused, and demeaned the officer.

They booked him under Sections 121(2) and 132 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for voluntarily causing hurt and assaulting a police officer. On the other hand, the police have not only refused to register an FIR against the officer but have also remained dismissive of the family's complaint, even 15 days after it was filed.

What happened?
Around 6.10 pm on January 26, Bekal police received a message on the Emergency Response Support System (112) that one Ashraf was assaulting his wife at Usmaniya Nagar in Pallikkara grama panchayat. Responding immediately, Sub-Inspector Menon and two other officers reached Ashraf's house. His wife told them that he had sneaked out moments before they arrived.

At the same time, pegged around 6.30 pm, Kannan said he was returning from Bekal Junction after buying groceries and snacks for his two granddaughters, aged 12 and 7. "I left my bicycle at the gate because the police jeep had blocked the way. I was walking home when the sub-inspector caught hold of my collar and dragged me towards the jeep," he told Onmanorama.

Kannan said he initially thought it was routine police behaviour and ignored it but asked the officer what was happening. "When I reached the jeep, the other two officers asked me whether I was Ashraf. That’s when I realised it was a case of mistaken identity," he said.

Ashraf was his neighbour. "When I told them I was not Ashraf, the sub-inspector asked why I ran on seeing them," he said. Kannan. He said doctors had taken the saphenous vein from his calves for the bypass surgery, making it impossible for him to run. "I shrugged off the sub-inspector and walked back home, saying I was Kannan. Just as I was about to reach my house, the officer came from behind, put me in a chokehold, and dragged me to the jeep again," he alleged.

Hearing the commotion, his daughter Sinija came out shouting that he was a heart patient. "The officer ignored my plea and bent my father forward and elbowed him on his back and neck," she said.

Sinija, who is preparing for PSC exams, told the sub-inspector that they belonged to a Scheduled Tribe and that police could not barge into their property without women officers and assault them. "Hearing this, the officer’s expression changed. He then assaulted my father again, saying, 'So you are Adivasis'," she said.

Sheela (45), Sinija’s sister-in-law, tried recording the incident on her phone, but Sinija alleged that the sub-inspector snatched it and threw it to the ground, breaking the screen. "My phone also broke in the commotion," she said. She added that while the two officers accompanying Sub-Inspector Menon asked him to let go of Kannan, they did not intervene.

Bekal DySP V V Manoj denied that the sub-inspector had assaulted Kannan or the women. He claimed that the officer let Kannan go as soon as he was informed that he was a heart patient.

"When the officers reached Ashraf's house, his wife told them he had slipped out and pointed towards Kannan’s house. Around the same time, Kannan was passing by, and the sub-inspector confronted him. But soon, Kannan started abusing and assaulting the officer. The whole issue happened because he was drunk," said the DySP.

Sinija countered the police claim, saying her father did not drink alcohol. "After my mother died, I moved in with him. Do you think I would stay with my two daughters in his house if he was a drunkard? You can ask anyone in Bekal Junction, where he has lived for 48 years if he has ever consumed liquor," she said.

Kannan questioned how the police could mistake him for Ashraf, who was in his twenties. "I am nearing 60," he said. Yet, in the FIR against Kannan, his age is mentioned as 29 years. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by Sub-Inspector Menon.

Kannan said he underwent treatment in the District Hospital for five days after he was allegedly assaulted. "Police came to the hospital to take my statement. I did not know it was to book me instead of the officer who is a disgrace to the state and the police department," he said.