The Kerala government is in denial about the actions of one of its police officers. While the High Court of the state has ordered that a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh be paid by the government to a 9-year-old girl who was humiliated in public along with her father, called a thief and forced to undergo trauma last year by a police officer, the Kerala government believes it’s not responsible for the police officer's actions, and will therefore not pay the money to Devipriya. TNM met Devipriya, her father Jayachandran (39) and her mother Rekha (31) at their home inside a rubber plantation in Thonnakkal. Still reeling from the shock of what happened to them last year, the family says they’re appalled at the government’s stand.
“Amid all the chaos and arguments, there was no one to console my child. That is what haunts me to this day,” says Rekha, as Jayachandran recalls the afternoon of August 27, 2021. “I came across a post saying that a massive cargo was enroute to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thumba,” Jayachandran says, “When I asked my daughter if she wanted to see it, she responded very enthusiastically. So we took my motorcycle and left immediately. After we reached the Moonnumukku junction, I parked my two-wheeler adjacent to a Pink Police vehicle and took my child to see the passing cargo. We took a ton of photos and videos.”
Jayachandran works as a rubber tapper, earning a daily wage of Rs 650-700. During the off-season, he digs wells or picks up other odd jobs. The Dalit family has been fighting for justice for what transpired last year with a police officer attached to the ‘Pink Protection’ force in the state — a special team created to protect women and children.
“I got my daughter a bottle of water because she was thirsty,” Jayachandran recalls. “She was drinking water by supporting herself on my bike when a woman police officer called out to me from near the police car. My daughter, startled by the sound, threw away the half-finished bottle. The police woman then asked me to take out ‘the phone’, and I gave her mine because I assumed that’s what she was asking for,” he says, adding that the officer’s tone changed after that.
The police officer, Rejitha, went on to accuse Jayachandran of stealing her phone. She then went a step further to allege that Jayachandran had passed the phone to his then 8-year-old daughter, his ‘accomplice’. She claimed to have witnessed this, adding that she also saw the girl throwing the phone away. The officer publicly humiliated the father-daughter duo and said they had to frisk the girl at the station. Another officer who had accompanied Rejitha even asked the latter if she had forgotten her phone back at the station, or to check her own bag. But Rejitha was intent on humiliating the father and child.
“The officer did not stop accusing us. Soon, her tone towards my child also changed. She said to my daughter, ‘phone edukkadi kalli’ (‘take out the phone, you thief’). My child was crying this whole time and even that did not evoke any humanity in the officer. They did try ringing the phone, but it must have been on silent mode as we could not hear the ringtone. This caused her suspicions to grow. Eventually, the phone was found inside the police vehicle,” Jayachandran says. However, what happened next continues to haunt him.
The entire incident was recorded on video by an onlooker, who had come to the rescue of the father-daughter duo and vouched for them in front of the police. In the video, he can be heard repeating that everything was being recorded.
Rejitha, however, went on to claim that a man ‘like him’ had robbed a jewellery store a week ago. “What did she mean by ‘like me’?” Jayachandran asks, “To this day, I don’t know the answer to that.” The family in their petition to the High Court have invoked sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The officer also tried to get a hold of the phone that had the recorded video, but then left the spot without even a small ‘sorry’, Jayachandran says.
“It is said that the police have looked into the issue and taken action against her. Hence, the case has been closed. But our statement has still not been recorded by the police. It was only the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights who approached us and helped us with the counselling for my child,” he says.
Devipriya, who was severely traumatised by the event, is still scared of the police. She had to undergo counselling sessions for a month to start sleeping well. “She wouldn’t sleep at all in the beginning. Eventually, she started crying in her sleep saying ‘we did not take it’. She was very silent. At the time, there was no school due to the pandemic. Now that classes have resumed, she at least has other things to think about,” says Rekha, as she helps her daughter pack up for her tuition classes.
Amid everything, one memory that remains vivid in Rekha’s mind is her child’s helplessness. “As an argument broke out, my child was left alone. She was crying hard. Watching that video broke my heart. If I had been there, I could have at least consoled her,” she says with welling eyes.
After the incident, the family received support from the non-profit organisation Disha, who are currently assisting them in their legal fight. They have also been provided with a few mobile phones to help their child attend online classes. “She kept one for herself and gave the rest to her friends who did not have a phone. In fact, we were also planning to donate portions of the compensation amount we were supposed to receive towards the education of Adivasi children and the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund,” says the couple.
After the incident, the family had approached several authorities including the Police Department, Kerala State SC/ST Commission and the Child Rights Commission. They had even staged a hunger strike in front of the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram and directly petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. It was because no action was taken that they eventually decided to approach the court. Finally, a judgment was delivered on December 22, 2021, directing the state government to pay Rs 1.5 lakh to Devipriya and her father.
Stating that the incident was a violation of the girl’s fundamental rights, the High Court came down heavily on the Pink Police, and additionally directed the state government to pay Rs 25,000 to the child as cost of litigation.
However, on Monday, March 14, the Kerala government filed an appeal at the High Court challenging the judgment. The government has taken a position that the officer, Rejitha, was acting in her personal capacity, and therefore the government cannot be held liable for her actions. The hearing has been adjourned to March 22.
Jayachandran has three questions: “First, what did the officer mean by 'like you', when she accused me and my daughter of theft? Second, I work for the Congress party, but did not even try to make this political. Is the CM not siding with us despite our petition to him, because of my party affiliation? Third, is it because the CM, who had launched the ‘Pink Police’ programme, does not want the force to have a bad name that he is doing this?”
‘Pink Protection’ was kicked off by the Chief Minister on July 19, 2021, in a bid to control the increasing atrocities against women, especially during the pandemic. It was launched as a comprehensive programme to safeguard the rights of women and children in public, private and cyber spaces. It is also aimed at preventing dowry-related harassment, cyber bullying and atrocities in public places against women.
Subsequent incidents of police atrocities were recorded in the state, especially during the pandemic. Police excesses and the public’s displeasure over the attitude of police personnel were seen on the rise in 2021.
Regarding the government’s appeal, activist Usha PE, who is the former Project Director of the Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society (KMSS) says that through this action of the state government, we are able to understand that the government is on the side of the harasser and not the victim. “The police, who made a mistake, are an instrument of the government. They are now being protected by the government. Instead of this, the government should have reprimanded the police officer and she should not be allowed to work with the public, especially women and children, and particularly vulnerable sections of women and children. If that had happened, it would have been a clear signal,” she says, speaking to TNM.
Usha further questions the message the state is sending to the child. “Growing up seeing her parents going to several offices, and multiple times to the High Court, what will the child think of the society and the system?” she asks, adding that the state has equal responsibility as the individual police officer.
If you appreciate our journalism, do support us. Independent media needs your support. Click here
