Keralam govt. to pay ₹12.5 lakh compensation to Muthanga custodial torture victim

The Keralam government has sanctioned ₹12.5 lakh in compensation to K.K. Surendran, a teacher who was subjected to custodial torture after his arrest in connection with the Muthanga land agitation of 2003.

It has also ordered the recovery of the compensation from the personal assets of two former police officers who were held responsible for his illegal arrest and torture.

Complying with the judgement delivered by the Additional District Court-II, Kalpetta, the government has decided against pursuing further legal proceedings, despite the government pleader’s recommendation to appeal against the judgement.

The decision brings a measure of relief to Mr. Surendran after a 23-year legal battle over his arrest, custodial torture and the injuries and reputational damage he suffered.

According to the order issued by the Home Department, the compensation will carry interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing the original suit until the amount is fully realised.

The complainant had recently met Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and urged him not to delay justice by pursuing another appeal and to ensure that the compensation awarded by the court was paid.

The government has also instructed the State Police Chief to initiate steps to recover the amount from the personal assets of P. Viswambaran, former Sub-Inspector, and V. Devaraj, former Circle Inspector, Sulthan Bathery police station.

The case dates back to February 22, 2003, when Mr. Surendran, then a senior lecturer at the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Sulthan Bathery, was taken into custody in connection with the Muthanga tribal agitation.

The police forcibly removed him from his staff room, dragged him across the floor in front of colleagues and students and took him away in a police jeep without disclosing the reason for his arrest.

He was subjected to physical torture at the Sulthan Bathery police station, where he was “struck on both ears and fainted, stamped upon with booted feet while seated on the jeep platform, and repeatedly punched in the abdomen. He was denied food and water, and blood oozed from his ears,” the government order reads.

The order also records that Mr. Surendran had not been produced before a magistrate within the stipulated 24 hours and that his family was not properly informed of his arrest. He was subsequently implicated in three criminal cases registered in connection with the Muthanga incident.

However, an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation gave him a clean chit, and he was excluded from the list of accused in all three cases.