Amid public outrage over recent instances of alleged police excesses in Kerala, another incident of a man and his school-going daughter being harassed publicly after being wrongly accused of theft, has kicked up a row. After the video of the incident went viral, which showed an officer of the 'Pink Police' force falsely accusing the father and daughter of stealing her mobile phone, disciplinary action was initiated against the officer on Sunday. The incident took place on August 27 at Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram district, under the rural police’s limits. After publicly harassing the father and the child, accusing them of theft, the officer reportedly found the phone in her own bag.
Thonaikal resident Jayachandran, a rubber tapping worker, and his daughter, had gone out to see a vehicle of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), passing through the road. According to reports, a vehicle of the Pink Police — a wing of the Kerala police established for the safety of women and children in public places — was parked in the area, and a civil police officer, identified as Rajitha, created a commotion, alleging that the duo stole her phone. Talking to Asianet News, Jayachandran said that the officer asked him to hand over her phone, when he was standing on the road.
"When I told her I did not take it, she said she saw me taking the phone and that I gave it to my daughter. She then began to question my daughter, making her cry. Following this, she (the officer) gathered people around, saying we stole her phone," Jayachandran said. However, many who gathered around, supported Jayachandran and his daughter. "I was here all along. He came here after me...I was seeing what you were doing to that small child. I have all the visuals," a man can be heard telling the police official in the video. "In front of a child, why did you (harass) him so much? You were shouting at the child asking her to take the phone out," the person can be heard saying.
Amidst the commotion, as per reports, one of the people called the police officer’s mobile number and found that the phone was in her bag, inside the vehicle. According to reports, following this, the officer left the spot without even rendering an apology. The incident of public harassment left Jayachandran and his daughter distraught. In an interview to Asianet News, Jayachandran said, "My daughter did not sleep last night. In her sleep, she kept saying she 'did not take it'. It was around 3 am by the time she got some sleep," he said.
Meanwhile, the family on Saturday filed a complaint with the Child Rights Commission and the Thiruvananthapuram Rural Police chief. On Sunday, the Pink Police officer was transferred from Attingal to Kollam city police. She has also been asked to attend a 15-day special training session as part of disciplinary action, a statement from state police media centre said.