Bindu R always thinks about her daughters, like any mother does. Her eldest one, a plus two student, awaits results this week. Her youngest one will be in class 10 this academic year. A class 9 dropout, Bindu has high hopes for her daughters.

When her husband, a daily wage labourer, was struggling to make ends meet, she wanted to help and took up a job as a housemaid. She saves as much as she can to support her husband so that her daughters could study. Till a month ago, this was all she thought of, the future of her daughters, until that day when she stood scared, helpless at the Peroorkada police station.

She was accused of stealing a gold ornament from the house where she worked as a maid. "Now your daughters can study from jail," a cop would tell her. The words hurt her, she wept. Bindu was weak from long hours of questioning and sleep deprivation. When they mentioned her daughters, she pleaded with them,"Please don't involve them".

Bindu, who decided to speak out about her ordeal at Peroorkada police station and has forced authorities to act has an uneasy calm about her as she narrates what she went through. She had finished the work for the day and was headed home when she received a call on April 23, around 4 pm.

“When I first got the call, I thought it was about the loan we had to repay. So, I didn’t answer. But then the same number called again. When I picked up, it was from the Peroorkada police station. They asked me to come to the station. When I asked why, they said it was regarding a missing gold chain,” recalled Bindu, a resident of Panayamuttom.

Bindu was anxious. What worried her more was that she didn’t even have enough money for an autorickshaw. Somehow, she managed to reach the station. There, she saw Omana Daniel — the woman in whose house she had worked just three days, on April 14, 16 and 19. “They were kind to me during those days. I found the job through a WhatsApp group. The pay was good, and with our financial struggles, I thought this would help,” she said.

At the station, officers began questioning her about the chain. “I had no idea about any missing chain. I told them I didn’t take it. I even told the owners,” Bindu said.

Then, two women officers took her into a room and stripped her. “They found nothing. Then they took me to another room, where two more women officers joined. They checked again. Still nothing. She kept saying she didn’t take it."How can I admit to something I didn’t do," she asked.

Despite this, the questioning continued. Around 7.30 pm, officers in normal clothes took Bindu to her home in Omana’s car. Her husband and her sister’s sons were searching for her all this time. “I always reach home by 6 pm. My phone was ringing while I was at the station. I begged the officers to let my family know where I was. But they didn’t inform anyone,” she alleged.

As per Article 22(1) of the Indian Constitution, an arrested person must be informed of the reason for their arrest, and the police must notify a friend or relative of the arrest and place of detention. Supreme Court guidelines also mandate this. In the case of a woman, the regulations are even stricter.

Advocate Bindhu Shankara Pillai pointed out that Section 43(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) prohibits the arrest of a woman after sunset and before sunrise, except in exceptional circumstances. In such cases, a woman police officer must obtain prior written permission from a First Class Magistrate by submitting a written report.

The police searched her house but found nothing. They brought her back to the station, while her husband and nephews followed in an autorickshaw. “On the way back, a police officer began abusing me verbally. It continued all the way from Panayamuttom to Peroorkada — about 22km.

“At the station, one officer attempted to beat me. I kept saying I didn’t steal the chain. That night, another officer on night duty continued the verbal abuse. They didn’t let me sleep. They questioned me till 3 am. I didn’t get any food or water. When I asked for water, they told me to drink from the toilet,” she said. At one point, Bindu even thought of ending her life, she kept thinking of her daughters.

In the early hours of April 24, the cops gave her a newspaper to sleep on the floor. But soon after she lay down, they woke her up and resumed questioning. “They told me an FIR had been registered at 11.45 pm and that I would be taken to the Attakulangara court at 11 am. They also said they would name my husband and daughters in the case,” Bindu stated.

Bindu’s husband is a daily wage labourer, and their daughters are aged 17 and 15. “The officer said my girls could continue their studies from jail. I broke down. I didn’t know if they were serious. I was mentally exhausted. I begged them not to involve my daughters,” she said.

The next day, on April 24, Omana came to the station with her daughter and spoke to the Sub-Inspector. After about an hour, they called Bindu in. “Omana said they were letting me go only because of my daughters. She said, ‘It’s okay if I lost my chain,’ and gave me ₹1,500 for the three days I worked. I took the money and left,” Bindu said.

She was released around noon. While leaving, the SI warned her not to be seen in and around Kowdiar or Ambalamukku. Later, an officer associated with the Peroorkada station called Bindu’s husband and claimed that Omana had found the missing chain in their house.

Bindu has worked as a house help for four years. She previously worked at a house in Kudappanakunn for over three years and left when the family's requirements changed. At the time of the incident, she worked in three houses, including Omana Daniel’s.

After this ordeal, the other households told her not to return to work. “I really want to be financially independent and support my husband. I’m scared about our future,” she said. “They did all this because I come from an underprivileged community. I don’t look good, and I’m dark-skinned,” said Bindu, who belongs to the SC community.

She has since filed complaints with the Chief Minister and the State Police Chief, seeking justice. Following the complaint, Cantonment Assistant Commissioner Stuart Keeler on May 15 ordered an inquiry. “There will be an inquiry into the matter, and based on the findings, further action will follow,” Keeler told Onmanorama.

Onmanorama reached out to the Peroorkada police station and the Station House Officer for comment, but they did not respond. Peroorkada SI was suspended on Monday following a special branch report that cited the officer's lapses.