An 84-year-old woman who suffered ignominy and legal proceedings against her for four years because of a mistake committed by the police is out to teach the police a lesson.
Bharathiyamma, a victim of the police’s mistaken identity, has complained to the Chief Minister and the State Human Rights Commission against the police. She is seeking action against the police personnel who subjected her to mental trauma for four years for no fault of hers.
It was in 2019 that the police arrested Bharathiyamma, 84, from Kunissery in connection with a case registered in 1998 against another woman named Bharathi.
The case was filed by a man named Rajagopal from Kallikkad against Bharathi, 50, who had been his housemaid. Bharathi had reportedly destroyed his properties when asked to leave. The police arrested her on the basis of the complaint in 1998, and she faced charges of absconding while on bail.
Twenty-one years later, the police reached Bharathiyamma’s house and took her into custody, apparently on a mistaken identity. But the police were not ready to listen to the octogenarian’s pleas that she had no case against her.
After securing bail, Bharathiyamma faced the legal wrangle for four years. Finally, she had to go in search of the original complainant and produce him at the court to get his testimony that she was not the accused.
“Such an ordeal should not happen to anyone. I had to come to the court several times in this old age for no fault of mine. Who is responsible for this? Who will recompense the shame and hardships that I suffered?” asked Bharathiyamma.
She said she dreaded the last four years as she was living alone after her husband’s death. She said she had felt humiliated as the police refused to believe her that she was not the person they were looking for.
The police here maintained that it was a case of mistaken identity caused by the same house name. The Bharathi that the police were looking for had given the house name of Bharathiyamma as her address. The police said they could not help it as the address and the name of the accused were the same.
But the police had no answer about the age difference between the two persons.
