A young law student in Kerala, 21-year-old Mofiya Parveen, died by suicide after she complained of domestic violence at the hands of her husband, Muhammad Suhail, and his family. In her suicide note, she has named Suhail and his parents Yusuf and Rukhia. But she has also named the Circle Inspector of the Aluva police station, CL Sudhir, in the note.
On Monday, November 22, hours before her death, Mofiya and her family were called to the Aluva police station, along with Suhail’s family, two weeks after she lodged a complaint of domestic violence with the police. They were called by the police official to broker a “compromise” over the issue. According to Mofiya’s father Dilshad, Sudhir was rude to Mofiya and made her feel dejected. While the police’s version is that the CI reprimanded her for slapping Suhail at the station, her family alleges that the CI made her feel like she was the perpetrator.
No action has been taken against CI Sudhir, even though Mofiya expressly said in her note that action must be initiated against him. Another woman, who was also a victim of domestic abuse and dowry harassment, has alleged that the CI behaved in a threatening manner with her too. She had approached the Aluva police to file a complaint after her in-laws threw her out of the house. She went to the station on the night of Saturday, November 20. But she alleged that she had to wait till Sunday morning for the policeman to register her complaint.
In an interview with Mathrubhumi, the woman alleged, "He (Sudhir) did not want to protect me- a woman, and instead behaved rudely to me. He used a threatening voice. He said 'edi' in a booming way to me. I was scared of him. I sat there for 18 hours thinking he would take action." She further said that Sudhir did not even register a first information report (FIR) in the incident.
“After being kept at the station for hours, I was threatened and asked to leave. Later, my statement was taken and they filed an FIR. But when I requested for a copy of the FIR report, they refused,” she said.
CL Sudhir also came under scrutiny when, in June this year, the Kollam Rural police filed a report with the Director General of Police regarding the murder of Uthra, a woman who was killed by her husband using a snakebite. The report stated that there were lapses in the evidence gathered by Sudhir, who was the Circle Inspector of the Anchal police station at the time. The lapses in the collection of evidence led to a delay in justice, the report had stated. Sudhir was then transferred from Kollam to Aluva.
Sudhir was also in the centre of a controversy in June last year. A couple was found dead in Paripally, and the postmortem was to be conducted. However, when the relatives of the couple brought the body to the Anchal station for the Circle Inspector to sign the inquest report, Sudhir allegedly asked them to bring the body to his house instead, as he was having lunch at the time.
Members of political parties including the Congress, BJP and CPI(M) had protested at the time, demanding Sudhir’s transfer.
If you are aware of anyone facing mental health issues or feeling suicidal, please provide help. Here are some helpline numbers of suicide prevention organisations that can offer emotional support to individuals and families.
Tamil Nadu
State health department's suicide helpline: 104
Sneha Suicide Prevention Centre - 044-24640050 (listed as the sole suicide prevention helpline in Tamil Nadu)
Andhra Pradesh
Life Suicide Prevention: 78930 78930
Roshni: 9166202000, 9127848584
Karnataka
Sahai (24-hour): 080 65000111, 080 65000222
Kerala
Maithri: 0484 2540530
Chaithram: 0484 2361161
Both are 24-hour helpline numbers.
Telangana
State government's suicide prevention (tollfree): 104
Roshni: 040 66202000, 6620200
SEVA: 09441778290, 040 27504682 (between 9 am and 7 pm)
Aasara offers support to individuals and families during an emotional crisis, for those dealing with mental health issues and suicidal ideation, and to those undergoing trauma after the suicide of a loved one.
24x7 Helpline: 9820466726
Click here for working helplines across India.