‘My entire body is in pain’: Kochi man alleges brutal custodial torture; four cops suspended

Kochi: Sujith Jayan now struggles to turn over in bed without holding on to something. The 32-year-old taxi driver, who says he was beaten inside the Kalady police station for several hours, has been unable to return to work since the alleged assault.

Four police personnel attached to the Kalady station – sub-inspector Ajmal and ASI Nisar, Senior Civil Police Officer Rajith Rajan and Civil Police Officer K R Dhanesh – have been suspended after a departmental inquiry found that there were lapses in custodial procedures.

The suspension was ordered by Ernakulam Range DIG G H Yathish Chandra based on a report by the Ernakulam Rural District Police Chief K S Sudarshan. The inquiry also found serious procedural violations: Sujith was kept at the station between 1 pm and 5 pm without his custody being recorded in the General Diary, his family was not informed and mandatory medical procedures were not followed.

Sujith, a native of Sreemoolanagaram near Aluva, is a former teacher who now operates an airport taxi from Cochin International Airport. He is the sole earning member of a family comprising his parents, younger sister, wife and child.

The episode began with a case registered by Kalady police on August 31 over a brawl involving some of Sujith’s college friends. Sujith says he had no role in the fight and was unaware of the case at the time.

According to him, the acquaintances later approached him in a blue car and asked him to withdraw money after transferring it to his account. Sujith says he did as asked because they had supported him during difficult periods. However, he refused to keep their vehicle after learning it was connected to a case.

The acquaintances left the car on the roadside. Sujith then moved it and deliberately parked it directly in front of a supermarket’s surveillance camera. He handed the key to a neighbouring shop, saying he wanted the vehicle's movements to be clearly recorded.

When police picked him up on September 2, he says he explained the circumstances while still in the police vehicle. “I told them these things inside the police vehicle itself before even reaching the station. I was brought to the station around 1 pm. From then, the beatings began, and they beat me until evening,” Sujith recalled.

Sujith says he was taken to a room without CCTV coverage instead of having his statement recorded.

His complaint, submitted to Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, alleges that his legs were pinned down, his feet stamped on, and his genitals kicked with boots. He further alleges that his back was repeatedly assaulted. 

He has also alleged that SI Ajmal stripped him and struck his genitals with a wooden plank against a windowsill, causing him to lose consciousness.

The complaint further alleges that after he regained consciousness, he was assaulted again and subjected to sexualised abuse. It says Nisar later took him back to the CCTV blind spot and beat his back with a concrete interlocking pavement brick. Sujith also alleges that he was made to drink cold water periodically and forced to jump despite his injuries.

“My entire body is in pain, but there are no visible marks to show. When I breathe, there is pain inside my chest. They beat my shoulder joints... If I let my hand hang down for a little while, it starts to hurt. I was in a state where I could have died,” he said.

Sujith says he has never been accused in a criminal case and does not even have a traffic violation case in his name despite years of driving.

Sujith was released in the evening but says police instructed him to report again at 10 am the next day. Despite severe pain and difficulty passing urine, he returned out of fear.

He later sought treatment at the government hospital in Aluva and then at Government Medical College Hospital, Kalamassery. A complaint was also submitted. “I was broken not just physically but mentally as well. I would have died there. Because my friends stood firmly by me, I filed the complaint,” he said.