Advocates In Kerala To Protest Against Police Violence On June 1
On June 1, 2022, Advocates across the state of Kerala will join hands to protest against police high handedness under the supervision of the State Bar Council.
Rising Police Goonda raj In The State
Last week, Advocate Mithun Madhusoodanan from Kerala went to the police station in Attingal to seek information regarding a case. In line with the prevailing police attrocities against lawyers in the highly literate state, the information seeking exercise turned into a scuffle and the matter escallated into a protest as per a report published in the leading daily. The advocate was allegedly beaten up by a police officer in the presence of the Bar Association President and Secretary.
Taking note of similar instances reported against Advocates in other parts of the State, a delgation led by Bar Council chairman is soon going to meet Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanding strong action against the police.
The local and national newspapers are filled with instances of police brutalities against Advocates in the southern state. Not just the Advocates, the civillians on many occasions have faced the wrath of the Kerala Police. A teenage girl was booked for obstructing officials from discharging duty as she argued with police officials for allegedly harrassing an elderly man waiting for his turn in a bank queue.
Culture of volence and abuse not a recent phenomenon
The police in the state has recieved flak from stakeholders in the past too. Referring to incidents to blatant abuse of police power, Kerala State Human Rights Commission former chairman Justice J B Koshy once acknowledged that there were couple of incidents in which the police had recorded the arrest of the accused after keeping the person in custody for days just for torturing during his tenure.
Although news reports claim that instances of police violence has increased during the government imposed lockdown during the pandemic, the data of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tells a different story. Accoring to the NHRC stats, the state administration has seen incremental rise in the number of custodial deaths since 2016. The figure reached eight in 2018-19.
Now, with Advocates protesting against the police violence and voicing their concerns to the State authorities, it will be intresting to see the action and the protocols implemented against those whose principal duty is to protect the people and not inflict violence on them.
