Kerala: Rs 10 lakh compensation for tortured bus driver

Kochi: The State Police Complaints Authority (SPCA) has ordered the prosecution of three cops for torturing  a school bus driver  and asked the state to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, which should be recovered from the cops. The petitioner was eligible for  a compensation of up to Rs 50 lakh by approaching constitutional courts under Article 32 and 226 as he was bedridden since the day of the torture, said  the order issued by chairman Justice Narayana  Kurup.

The  cops concerned are Joseph Sajan, SI  at harbour police station, Prakasan, additional SI, and Rajeevan, civil police officer. They had   caused grievous hurt to K.S. Suresh from Eda Kochi in custody on July 1, 2016. Justice  Kurup criticised the top brass of the police for promoting indiscipline and condoning custodial torture. The Inspector General of Police, Kochi Range, has been asked to initiate action under sections 326 and 330 of IPC besides launching departmental action against them. The  three officers had foisted a bogus case of sexually abusing  a six-year-old child. The child’s  father had a spat with the driver in the past.

Justice Kurup said that the officers tutored the child’s statement. It  is impossible for the petitioner to abuse the child inside the bus at  the short distance between Changampuzha park and Mamangalam, Edapally, which can be covered in  80 seconds. Justice  Kurup charged  Mattancherry ACP Vijayan  with  ‘murdering’ the truth for downplaying the grave injuries suffered by the petitioner as ‘scratches in bones’ to save his subordinates. “If one does not tell the whole truth, one can mislead people more than if one tells them an outright lie,” the order said.