The woman said an FIR was lodged against her, and she was kept at the station the whole night, and they even questioned her in the early hours of the next day.
Credit: iStock Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: In an embarrassment to the CPM government in Kerala, a Dalit woman working as a maid alleged that the Chief Minister's office ignored her plight over alleged police harassment in a "false" complaint of gold theft.
With the issue snowballing into a major row, a police officer in sub-inspector rank was placed under suspension pending inquiry on Monday.
Thiruvananthapuram native Bindu, 39, was kept in custody overnight on April 23 at the Peroorkada police station on the basis of a complaint of her employer, identified as Omana Davis, accusing her of stealing a gold chain weighing around two sovereigns.
Bindu alleged that the police abused her and threatened to frame cases against her daughters, and also denied her food and water. "When I asked for water, the police asked me to drink water from the toilet. Even after my employer informed the police that the gold chain was recovered from their house, a police official warned me that I should not be seen in that locality. I was kept in custody for twenty hours," she said.
Bindu said that she gave a petition to Chief Minister's political secretary P Sasi along with her lawyer. But Sasi ignored her plight and asked her to face the case in the court.
Sasi told a section of the media that he did not ignore the complaint. "It was forwarded to the officials concerned for necessary action."
Later during the day, sub-inspector Prasad was placed under suspension pending inquiry.
Congress and BJP have launched protests against the government over the issue. While top leaders of the parties called on the woman and extended moral support, the opposition parties staged protest marches accusing the government of maintaining an anti-Dalit and anti-women stand.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission also ordered an inquiry into the incident.