Unprovoked police baton charge on family triggers public outcry

Sub-Inspector and two officers suspended for brutalizing wedding party in Pathanamthitta, sparking social outrage and protests.

A Sub-Inspector and two civil police officers were on Wednesday placed under suspension for brutalising a wedding party in Pathanamthitta on Tuesday night.

The State police came under severe social criticism after a surveillance video footage showing law enforcers caning members of a wedding party, including a husband and wife, in front of a bar hotel at Abaan Junction in Pathanamthitta late Tuesday emerged in the public domain. 

S. Ajeetha Beegum, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Thiruvananthapuram Range), ordered the suspension of Sub-Inspector Jinu J.U. and civil police officers Jobin and Ashfak Rasheed following a report from the Pathanamthitta District Police Chief which faulted the officers for indiscipline and official misconduct.

The Deputy Police Superintendent of the District Crime Branch has been tasked with conducting an investigation and submitting a report within two weeks.

The incident occurred when a marriage party returning from a family wedding at Ezham Mile in Adoor briefly halted in front of a bar hotel and stepped out of the van at the junction around 10.15 p.m. to drop a relative, Sithara Mol. 

According to her statement, a police patrol vehicle pulled up near them and baton-charged the group without any provocation. She sustained a shoulder injury, while her husband, Sreejith, who had arrived to receive her, suffered a head injury from a baton blow.

Ms. Sithara noted that some of the law enforcers were in plainclothes. She alleged that the police did not seek any explanation before taking action. Other members of the family group, Shijin, Ajith, and Ajay sought treatment for injuries at a local hospital.