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The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday, September 16, saw a heated debate between the Opposition and the ruling front over the increasing police violence in the state. Custodial violence perpetrated by the police received renewed media attention in Kerala when Sujith, a Youth Congress leader in Thrissur, obtained visuals of his physical assault in 2023 through the Right to Information (RTI).
This incident sparked a broader public discussion in the state about the police, and numerous complaints of police brutality were reported by the media.
The Opposition, led by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), had submitted a notice for an adjournment motion regarding the issue of torture in police lockups. The UDF MLAs, including Roji M John, KPA Majeed, Mons Joseph, Anoop Jacob, Mani C Kappan, and KK Rema, criticised the government for the allegations of multiple custodial torture allegations in the state, including the Kunnamkulam case. The UDF also demanded that the police officers in the Kunnamkulam police station be suspended.
In response, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who also serves as the state's home minister, stated that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government does not support police officers who commit crimes. He emphasised, "In 2016, we attempted to give the police a new image through the Janamaithri initiative, which led to a positive transformation in the state. However, some police officers have not yet comprehended this change. If they have committed any wrongdoing, the government would not protect them. We have always taken strong action against officers who showed criminal behaviour,” he added.
While answering starred questions raised by UDF MLAs, Chandy Oommen, Sunny Joseph, Roji M John and T Siddique, about the action taken against the police officers who physically tortured the Youth Congress leader, Pinarayi Vijayan said Sujith was accused in 11 cases registered in Thrissur district.
The Youth Congress leader, VS Sujith, was physically tortured at the Kunnamkulam police station in Thrissur on April 5, 2023. The accused police officers were identified as Sub Inspector (SI) Nuhman, Senior Civil Police Officers (SPO) Sajeevan, Sandeep, and Shashidharan. These officers were suspended on September 6, this year followed by the Kunnamkulam Judicial Magistrate of First Class Court (JFCM) order. Earlier, following Sujith’s complaint, the department had taken disciplinary action against the police officers which included cutting two increments.
The CM said, following the complaint filed by Sujith to the Thrissur city police chief, an investigation was conducted and the police officers were transferred and their two increments was blocked as part of the disciplinary action. Later, the Kunnamkulam Judicial Magistrate of First Class Court (JFCM) court conducted a direct investigation and took action against the police inspector and three other officers.
The 11 First Information Report (FIR) registered against Sujith spans from 2018 to 2024. He has been booked for voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, creating law and order issues, conducting a protest against CM during COVID without social distancing, physical violence, disturbing public peace, conducting a protest at MLA's office with provocative slogans, and conducting a political rally without obtaining prior permission.
CM also said, only Communist-led government has taken strict action against the police officers. He said 108 police officers were dismissed from service due to committing different offences between May 2016 and June 2024. Between October 2024 and September 2025, another 36 police officers were dismissed from the service, he said. “The UDF governments cannot think about such things,” he added.
Responding to the CM, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said disciplinary actions against the police have been taken during the terms of all governments. “The CM has to change his statement. Because the actions against the police officers who are guilty of misconduct or corruption were taken in the term of all governments in the state.
The CM also spoke about the complaints received by the State police Complaints Authority (SPCA), constituted for probing complaints against police officers in the district level as well as the state level. The number of complaints received by the SPCA has decreased in recent years, and it shows the incidents leading to such complaints have also decreased in the state, he said.
VD Satheesan, the Leader of Opposition, announced an indefinite sit-in protest led by two UDF MLAs, AKM Ashraf and Saneeshkumar, against the government decision not to suspend the police officers who committed the crime in Kunnamkulam. The two MLAs would hold the protest at the entrance of the Assembly. Opposition also boycotted the Assembly, as they were not satisfied with the reply given by the Chief Minister.