Police Think They Can Get Away With Anything, Says Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan; Flags Police Excesses in Assembly

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan said the police in the state appeared to believe they could do anything, calling it a serious issue that needed to be addressed. Listing instances of police excesses under the UDF government in the Assembly, he said such actions could not be encouraged under any circumstances.

He said the government must ensure that the police act in accordance with the Home Minister’s directions. Although the Home Minister had said he would take a strong stand, the attitude of the police had not changed, Pinarayi said, pointing to the Nedumbassery accident and the subsequent incident in Cheranalloor.

The common people had lost faith in the police force, he said. Referring to the Cheranalloor accident, he said the question raised by Jayabalakrishnan’s daughter — whether there was one set of justice for the rich and another for the poor — was a serious concern.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala admitted in the Assembly that the police had failed to act properly in the case in which a scooter rider was killed after being hit by a Mercedes-Benz driven by a 17-year-old son of a judge in Cheranalloor.

Chennithala said the government had no obligation to blindly defend the police if they had committed mistakes. The law was the same for everyone, regardless of whether the accused was the son of a judge or anyone else, he said.