Kadavanthra SHO Ratheesh involved in Peechi custody torture, suspended

Kochi: The police officer accused in the controversial Peechi custodial torture case, Inspector PM Ratheesh, has finally been placed under suspension. The order, issued by the Inspector General of Police (South Zone) S Shyam Sunder on Tuesday, comes more than two years after Ratheesh, who is currently Station House Officer of Kadavanthra police station in Kochi, was found to have abused his power and assaulted detainees while serving as sub-inspector at Peechi station. 

The suspension order cites misconduct and abuse of authority, and bars him from exercising official duties during the period. Ratheesh will only be entitled to a subsistence allowance while under suspension. The suspension now marks the first concrete punitive step against Ratheesh, though questions remain on why action took so long despite clear evidence. 

The suspension order states that based on the examination of the report submitted by Thrissur City ASP and the related documents, it has been found that further action against Ratheesh is necessary. “It is inappropriate for the accused police inspector, Ratheesh PM, to continue in service in the public interest. Therefore, he is hereby ordered to be removed from service,” said the order. 

The action follows mounting criticism over the state police’s delay in acting on the findings of a departmental probe and a report by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC). The SHRC investigation, based on a complaint filed by rights activist Satish, had revealed damning CCTV evidence of Ratheesh wrongfully detaining four men, including Paul Joseph, the son of KP Ouseph, a hotel owner in Pattikkad, in May 2023. The men were assaulted at the station after a dispute over the quality of food at Ouseph’s hotel. 

The ACP, Ollur, who probed the case, reported that instead of registering a case, Ratheesh facilitated an illegal “settlement” between Ouseph and the complainant, Dinesh. The report noted that his actions brought disrepute to the police and recommended stringent disciplinary action. 

​Despite the ACP’s strong findings and the City Police Commissioner forwarding the report to senior officials in November 2023, action against Ratheesh was confined to an oral inquiry, which dragged on for two years. The SHRC had repeatedly flagged the delay and criticised the reluctance of the police to furnish CCTV visuals, which were eventually released to Ouseph only after an order from the State Information Commission. 

​Ouseph had also alleged that he was forced to pay a bribe of ₹5 lakh to the cops. The case gained traction after visuals of custodial torture from the police station went viral recently, sparking a wider debate on police brutality.