Man held for moral policing, assaulting mother-son duo in Kerala

Kollam: A woman and her son, who were eating inside their car at a prominent highway intersection in the Kollam district in Kerala were accused of ‘immoral’ acts, dragged out of their vehicle, and severely assaulted in broad daylight by a local resident, the police and the victims said.

The police apprehended the assailant, Ashish, on Wednesday. The incident occurred on Monday when Shamla, 44, and Salu, 21, were going home after a regular medical check-up at a Thiruvananthapuram hospital.

Speaking about the same, Shamla said: ‘As dining at hotels was not allowed, we had ordered a take-away for eating in the car. When we stopped the car at a junction near Paravoor beach road for having food, a youth approached us. On seeing me and my son, he said you cannot do immoral activities here. My son told him there was nothing immoral, we are having food, and that it is my mother. Then the assailant said there was no evidence for that and that he did not feel I was the mother.’

She said the man attacked them, as well as causing damage to their vehicle. ‘He thrashed us with an iron rod and pulled us out of our car. The incident happened in broad daylight at 3 pm. Many were passing through the National Highway, but nobody came to our rescue. Later we learnt that such attacks are common on that beach road.’

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Despite the fact that the mother and her kid went to the local police station, they were advised to seek medical attention and then register a complaint. However, before the family could submit a complaint, the assailant filed a counter-suit alleging that their automobile had hit his sheep. The police did not file a case in connection with the incident until Tuesday.

Kollam Assistant Commissioner of Police G Gopakumar said: ‘There was no lapse on the part of the police. The mother and the son came to the police station after they suffered multiple injuries. The priority was to give medical care. Hence, we suggested they get admitted to a hospital first.’