THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pink police's public trial of an eight-year-old Dalit girl and her father on the street for allegedly stealing a mobile phone. Dalit youth brutally beaten up at the police station in Thrissur on charges of theft. Most recently, the brutality at the Peroorkada police station against a Dalit woman on charges of theft. A section of the police force has a 'special illness' where they think of Scheduled Tribes as thieves and criminals. They often face brutal treatment. How many incidents like this?

The incident in which an eight-year-old Dalit girl and her father were tried in the middle of the road by a Pink Police officer for allegedly stealing a mobile phone took place in Attingal. The mobile phone was recovered from the police vehicle, but the harassment continued. Vishwanathan, a tribal from Wayanad, who had come to the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for his wife's delivery, was beaten up by security personnel on charges of theft. The next day, Vishwanathan was found hanging from a tree in the hospital premises. Although the family alleged that he was beaten to death and then hanged, the police tried to frame it as suicide.

Brutality in custody

• Vinayakan (18), a Dalit youth from Thrissur, who was taken into custody on charges of theft, committed suicide after being brutally tortured at Pavaratty station. The SC/ST special court ordered the policemen who beat him to be charged with abetment to suicide.
• Sarun, a tribal colony resident, was taken into custody and tortured by forest officials in Upputhara, Idukki, in 2022 on charges of smuggling wild meat in an auto. The investigation found that the case was false and six officials were suspended. The police have registered a case against 13 forest officials.

10 years, cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes

(Registered by Police)

2016------992

2017------1060

2018------1025

2019------998

2020------976

2021------1081

2022------1222

2023------1313

2024------1269

2025------107 (January)