A young man from Malappuram was allegedly stripped naked and assaulted for hours by the police, in a horrific incident of custodial torture in the state. In his complaint to the district police chief, MV Najmuddin (23) said that he was grabbed from his house and made to undress by two police officers who beat him with a stick.
The officers even asked the station inspector if “they should kill me”, the 23-year-old who is being treated for severe injuries, told the media.
The incident took place on Saturday, October 24. Speaking to the media, Najmuddin alleged that the police dressed in plainclothes — Aneesh from Tirur police station and Shiji from Ponnani station — entered his house and hit him. He said they grabbed him from his house and put him on a bike and took him away.
“I was taken not to the police station, but to a quarters next to the Ponnani police station. They took me via a side gate and threateningly asked me if I knew where they were taking me. As soon as I got down from the bike, I was assaulted,” Najmuddin told the media.
For about one hour, Najmuddin said he was hit on his back, kicked and assaulted outdoors. “I was rolling on the ground, under the sun,” he added. He added that the police officers then asked him to get into a room, which he refused.
“I knew they would kill me if I got inside the room. But, they dragged me in anyway and asked me to take off my clothes. I said no again. Then they forced me to remove my t-shirt and pants. They stripped me naked and hit me on my private parts. One of the officers kicked me on the bum and on my back (spine). They got hold of a stick and hit me. The room was locked,” he added.
The 23-year-old also said that the officers had a bottle of liquid, which he suspected was alcohol. “One of them tried to force me to drink it. It was all over my body,” he described.
He further added when Sub-Inspector Babychan George of the Ponnani station arrived, he was still being assaulted. He was finally let go by 2 pm, and was offered a glass of water mixed with sugar.
“I kept asking them why they were hitting me, and what wrong did I do. They had no answer to that,” Najmuddin added.
According to Najmuddin, a former DYFI joint secretary at a local unit, the police told him that a complaint had been filed against him by a woman.
He filed a complaint with the Malappuram district police chief, and based on preliminary inquiry Aneesh has been suspended from service. The case has also been handed over to Perumpadappu Circle Inspector, for which the SP has sought a report.