Mofiya Suicide: Who Are You to Teach Me Law, the Cop Asked Her, Alleges Father

The police officer, Sudheer has been accused of not conducting a fair investigation in many past cases.

“Who are you to teach me law? I know what needs to be done.”

This is what the Aluva East police Circle Inspector, CL Sudheer told 21-year-old Mofiya Parveen Dilshad during a conciliatory talk held at the station on Monday, said her father Dilshad V Salim.

The Circle Inspector (CI) of police is in the eye of the storm close on the heels of the death by suicide on Tuesday of Mofiya , who had taken her complaint of domestic harassment to him.

The law student, resorted to the extreme step after the police failed to act on her complaint. She left behind a suicide note accusing her husband, in-laws and the CI of pushing her to this grave decision.

The police arrested her husband Muhammed Suhail, his father Yusuf, and mother Rukia on Wednesday early morning.

However, no action has been taken against the Circle Inspector, who reportedly insulted and mocked Mofiya when she came to speak to him, adding insult to injury. The policeman has been accused of misconduct earlier too.

The Quint spoke to Mofiya's family, police and protesters to understand what transpired at the police station and how this was not unforeseeable given the past conduct of the policeman.

‘Had Pronounced Talaq Alleging My Daughter Was Mentally Unstable’

Mofiya and Suhail got married in April this year. Dilshad told The Quint that they were told that he was from a well-to-do family and was working with a construction firm in the UAE.

“Before getting married we asked them and they said they didn't want any dowry. But a few days later, they demanded a dowry of 40 lakhs for shooting a film. My daughter said that it was not possible. This was the start of the domestic violence,” he said.

Her father said they later found out that Suhail was unemployed and was living off the money Mofiya had earned as a freelance mehendi designer.

“Suhail had also pronounced talaq in a registered letter sent to our mosque. They alleged she was mentally unstable. However, the mosque officials refused to accept it. We went to their house to have a discussion with their family. My daughter fell at his feet and cried saying she loved him and asked him to take her back. Even a drunkard would change his mind but he didn't even lift her from his feet.”

Dilshad V Salim, Mofiya's Father

The couple then attended counselling sessions in Ernakulam.

“The psychologist told us to save our child from this marriage. We don’t know if he had any affairs but he used to watch porn all night. The psychologist had even suggested that Mofiya file a complaint with the police at the earliest. Even then, my daughter said that she will give this marriage another try,” said Dilshad.

What Transpired at the Station

A few days ago, Mofiya had approached the Aluva Superintendent of Police with a complaint and was redirected to the Aluva station. On 22 November, Mofiya and Suhail’s families gathered at the police station as the Circle Inspector CL Sudheer called them there.

Her family has alleged that Sudheer was rude to her and this made Mofiya feel dejected.

“We had to go to the police station at 10pm. All that he had to do was record a statement, register a complaint, arrest the accused and investigate. Instead he did drama. When my daughter cited legal sections, he didn't like it. My daughter wanted to give her detailed statement but he refused to record it. We suspect he has received a bribe from them and that's why he supported the husband even at the time of registering our statement,” he said.

“When we returned home she asked me, ‘If this is how the justice system is treating an informed law student like me, then what about all the other girls?’”

Dilshad V Salim, Mofiya's Father

The Infamous Cop

Sudheer is not new to controversy and has been accused of not conducting a fair investigation in previous cases as well.

According to reports, Sudheer's work had come under scrutiny just recently in the infamous Uthra murder case, where a husband had killed his wife with a poisonous snake. Serious lapses were reported on the part of Sudheer during the preliminary investigation stage.

Manorama News had reported that on 20 November he had made a woman wait for an entire day and refused to register her complaint. He reportedly even used derogatory Malayalam words, like 'edi' and mistreated her.

In another incident, Sudheer demanded the body of a man who died by suicide after murdering his wife, be brought to his house, which was about 15 km away, to complete the inquest proceedings. This incident took place in June last year and a complaint was also lodged against the police officer for dishonouring a body.

Protests On for the Past 48 Hours

For over 48-hours, Congress cadres led by legislator Anwar Sadath and Member of Parliament Benny Behanan have been on a sit-in protest in front of the station demanding justice for Mofiya. A report by the Aluva police alleges that Sudheer did not mistreat the woman; and that he intervened only when the woman slapped the husband after a heated argument.

“This policeman has been notorious in other cases. How can the police give a report saying the policeman didn’t misbehave when he actually did. Why was there a delay in registering the complaint? His actions pushed a young girl to end her life. We will demand a probe and he needs to be suspended immediately.”

Benny Behanan, Congress MP

Justice Antony Dominic, Chairperson of Kerala state Human Rights Commission has asked the Aluva Rural SP to initiate a high-level inquiry into the allegations.

The inspector allegedly visited the station after the district rural police chief, Karthik, said on Tuesday that he has been removed from station duties, pending a probe by a deputy superintendent of police. The Congress leaders staged a protest alleging his visits were to influence the case.