Palakkad North Division police turned up at the house of two brothers, Abdur Rahman (18) and Bilal (20), on the evening of 24 August questioning them in connection with a physical assault attempt on an RSS worker. They were taken into custody and were brutally tortured. “They were unaware of this assault incident and continuously asserted their innocence to the police”, said their lawyer Advocate Mohammad Rashid.
ALSO READ: MUSLIM DRIVER LYNCHED IN UTTAR PRADESH FOR NOT CHANTING ‘JAI SHRI RAM’ SLOGAN
Kerala police has refused to act on a complaint filed by the father of an 18-year-old on alleged custodial torture and anti-Muslim slurs used by police station SI Sudheesh Kumar. The police, instead, have filed a case against the boy for circulating violence-inciting fake news over social media.
As per the report, Abdur Rahman recounted his trauma when he was finally released after 24 hours. “A group of ten police officers started by beating both the youths on their feet. They were tied up and 150-200 lashes were inflicted on them. They stood on his thighs and beat them on the head,” he said.
Then, two police officers sat on their chests while the others used a cigarette lighter to burn their genitals. They even sprayed their private parts with pepper spray, he said.
He also alleged that Sudheesh Kumar used anti-Muslim slurs throughout the torture. “’ You should not give birth to Muslims. We don’t need more Muslims’, the officer repeated,” said Abdur Rahman.
Bilal was also subjected to electric shocks during the interrogation in another room. The next day, Bilal was taken for a COVID test and his arrest was recorded. He was produced in front of the district magistrate through video conferencing.
Later that evening, Abdur Rahman was released. He said Bilal has been sent to prison without any medical treatment for his fever or injuries.
Abdur Rahman returned home with a swollen face and his legs were badly injured. He was taken to the hospital in Palakkad around 10:30 pm. The laboratory reports show the presence of blood in Abdur Rahman’s urine due to internal bleeding. Initial diagnosis revealed that Abdur Rahman has received an injury on his spine.
One of his friends shared awareness about the incident has further backfired. The Kerala police, in response, has registered a case against Abdur Rahman and his friends for circulating fake news over social media. The police denied the allegations of torture and dismissed it as baseless allegations.
It all started with a comment on a Social media post, it turned out to be a clash, that too was initiated by RSS activists who had threatened to delete the comment from the post. First, they attacked them, later the RSS activists set on fire the shop of an SDPI activist who helped the two Muslim youth. This is what led to the fight. As the local police refused to accept the complaint, it was submitted to the DySP. No action was taken yet.