THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two police officers have been suspended for subjecting a heart patient to custodial torture. The youth was arrested on charges of theft and jailed for 21 days. Action has been taken against circle inspectors G Ajith Kumar of vigilance and anti-corruption bureau in Thiruvananthapuram and T Vijaya Kumar of Puthur Station in Kollam. The incident happened while the two were working in Vellarada Police Station. Rejin (23), a native of Kunnathukal was trapped in a fake case and tortured brutally in jail.

The incident happened on October 6 in 2017. Rejin was an employee of a company in Puliyarakonam. When Rejin came to know that the police is in search of him, he reached the Vellarada Station. After showing him a CCTV footage, they asked if this was him. When he said that it was not clear, he was taken to the CI's room and brutally assaulted.

During the course of five days he had been illegally detained, was taken to various places including a godown in Kanjiramkulam and tortured to make him own up a crime he had not committed They tortured him asking where the stolen money was. He was harassed after someone said the CCTV footage resembled him. When everyone came to know about the theft, Rejin became disgraced. He was later dismissed from work.

The complainant in his statement had mentioned that a two-member team was behind the theft. He was the only one implicated in the case. A probe by a special branch noticed the lapse on the side of the police.

Rejin was not spared even after saying that he was a heart patient. They applied green chilly on his eyes and private parts after taking him to Aryangode station. They also sprayed chilly. He complained of uneasiness four times.