The Kerala High Court asked the police to award a compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh to the family of a minor girl who was harassed in the public by a woman cop by falsely accusing her of mobile phone theft.
The court order is a major embarrassment to the Left-front government in Kerala as the government was strongly backing the woman police personnel despite the video footage of the eight-year-old child being harassed in the public, triggering much public criticism.
Justice Devan Ramachanran, who gave the orders on Wednesday, strongly flayed the behaviour of the police and rejected the justifications of the police and the government. The court also ordered that Rs 25,000 be paid in litigation charges and directed that the woman cop, Rajitha, be kept off from duties that require public interaction and to impart her behavioural training.
The child's family was also directed that they may proceed with any other litigation for stringent action against the woman police personnel or seeking higher compensation.
The incident took place at Attingal, about 30 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram city, on August 27. The child, along with her father Jayachandran, who is a tapping worker, went to the town to watch a trailer that was ferrying a huge consignment to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, as the movement of the huge cargo along the national highway had received much attention.
Jayachandran parked his two-wheeler near a Pink Police patrol vehicle. Later, the woman police personnel accused the father and daughter of stealing her mobile phone kept in the police vehicle. She said that Jayachandran lifted the mobile phone and handed it to his daughter. The police even reportedly frisked the father and daughter in public even as they pleaded innocence. Later, the phone was found in the police vehicle itself after some onlookers suggested that the police dial the phone number.
Onlookers had captured a video of the police questioning on their mobile phone and it went viral on social media. Despite strong public resentment against the woman police's behaviour and the child's family seeking action, the cop was only given a transfer to a neighbouring district. Subsequently, the family approached court seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh and action against the cop.
After the court pulled up the government over the incident, the woman police officer tendered a written apology in a bid to settle the case. However, the family did not accept the apology citing that they had suffered much harassment from police and the government by rejecting repeated pleas for action.
Watch the latest DH Videos here:
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks