Chennai Police Apologised For Mistaking My Son For a Thief

Chennai Police apologised to my 15-year-old boy, who was wrongly accused and beaten up by cops, says Lakshmi.

The Quint’s My Report published an article on 15 February 2019 about a minor boy who was mistaken as a thief and allegedly beaten up by Chennai Police personnel. His mother spoke to us on Monday, 18 February, and told us that the police have apologised to them.

On 12 February, Vijay (name changed) had gone to his friend’s house to study and that’s when two cops in plain clothes took him to the police station. They accused him of stealing a bicycle. Though the boy denied knowing anything about the theft, the police personnel allegedly beat him up.

Deputy Commissioner of Police R Sudhakar called me and my son to his office. He said, “Yes, it was very wrong of the police officers to have hit the boy... look at him (pointing to my son), he looks so innocent.”

Sudhakar got up from his chair, shook my son’s hand and apologised.

“Don’t misunderstand the entire police force with this incident. Study well and become a great man.”

R Sudhakar, Chennai DSP, as narrated by Lakshmi

I don’t want the concerned police officers to be suspended or dismissed, but wanted to make sure that Vijay is not harassed again. Most importantly, I wanted to ensure such incidents don’t happen to someone else’s child.

Sudhakar chatted with Vijay and asked him what he wants to do when he grows up. Vijay said he wants to become a civil engineer. Sudhakar then advised him to study well and get a good seat by merit.

My son was timidly answering everything that Sudhakar asked and that made the deputy commissioner feel very bad. “Oh my! Is this the boy cops mistook for a thief,”Sudhakar asked me.

“The reason why I even filed a complaint is not to seek revenge. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of people like the ones I work for and The Quint for publishing my article to bring attention to the issue. But that might not be the case for others, whose child is wrongly accused and treated badly by the police.”

Lakshmi, Vijay’s mother

Vijay’s mother had told The Quint on Thursday, 15 February:

I am a single mother, and I do my best to provide my son the best education in a reputed English-medium school to secure his future,

But what if this incident would have had a deep impact on him? And what if he went somewhere or did something to himself? What would I have done then?

I am just relieved that it’s over now.

(As told to Smitha TK)

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)