Thrissur: Nedupuzha police station has booked its former SI and three assistants on orders of the District and Sessions Court on a complaint by an Scheduled Caste /Scheduled Tribe activist of custodial torture four years back.
P. R. Prabhakaran, a fishseller, says they booked him on a false complaint of sexual harassment by a 69-year-old woman.
SI K. S. Selvaraj, 48, ASIs A. S. Valsan, 58, and Kannan, 55, and driver P. O. Manoj, 50, face charges under IPC and SC/ST PA Act 1989 as per an FIR registered on June 18.
Mr Prabhakaran, a former member of SC/ST Monitoring Committee, told reporters here on Tuesday that Mr Selvaraj targetted him for voicing against police in the committee meetings.
"In retaliation, the SI got the woman to file a complaint and booked me under the Indian Penal Code 354 for assault and outraging modesty," he said.
"Without informing my family and preventing me from getting any legal assistance, they arrested me and brutally tortured in lockup. While they produced me before the magistrate, I told him about the torture, and he noted it down."
After getting bail, he underwent treatment at Thrissur MCH for 12 days, and his CT scan showed 'suspicious fracture line in the L1 Vertebra'.
In July 2015, he filed a complaint with the DGP, home minister and the State SC/ST Commission.
"Since all his attempts failed in getting his tormentors boked, he moved a private complaint at the SC/ST Special Court in Thrissur in 2018 and has now got a favourable order," his lawyer P. A. Chandran said.
Mr Selvaraj, who is presently the Wadakkanchery CI, termed the case as a counter and allegations baseless.
