Summary:
Kochi, Nov 29 (PTI) Police have an obligation to act with empathy and also follow the victim and witness protection protocols, the Kerala High Court said on Monday and added that no one will come forward with complaints if they are subjected to ridicule by the force.
"People often do horrible things (like suicide) when they are spurned by the first authority (usually the police) which they approach, as we saw recently," the high court said in an apparent reference to the Mofia Parveen case.
Mofia, a 21-year-old third year law student, committed suicide after a police officer allegedly misbehaved with her when she went to the station in connection with a dowry harassment and domestic violence complaint lodged by her against her husband and in-laws.
The observation by Justice Devan Ramachandran came during the hearing of a plea for police protection, where the victim has alleged that she was being harassed by not only the accused, but by certain police officers as well and as a result, she has been forced to go into hiding by residing with a close relative of hers.
She has alleged that the police officers in question were acting in collaboration with the accused in the case.
During the hearing on Monday, police told the court that a woman victim liaison/protection officer was assigned to the complainant.