Friends and family of four Indian youths who were detained and remanded after they attempted to lodge a police report alleging to be victims of a group of Malays, have started a petition to demand police investigate the attackers.

HRP setapak police brutality victims They claim that the assistant superintendent (ASP) at the police station had hit and threatened the four 14-year-olds to admit that they had started the fight.

“We have started a petition against the ASP. 100 have signed it so far,” said a friend of the victims, 34-year-old C Devi at a press conference today at Hindraf-HRP’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Present at the event to give their accounts of their ordeal were the teens M Indran, M Ravitharan, M Arvin Raj, N Saativel, and 21-year-old S Saravanan who had sustained severe injuries while coming to their aid.

HRP setapak police brutality victims Saravanan injuries.jpg Saravanan ( right in photo ) described how he had been set upon after confronting the boys’ attackers, and showed the press his bandaged forearm and other injuries to his upper arm and his scalp, in all requiring nearly 50 stitches.

“At 5.30pm I arrived home on my motorbike, and was approached by my friends (who had allegedly been attacked).

“I went to (the group of Malays) see what the problem was, and one of them stabbed me. Five others then came and beat me up,” said Saravanan.

“Till now the police have never come to me for a statement,” he added.

  Forced to admit wrongdoing

The alleged incident took place on Tuesday evening at the PPR low cost flats in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur where the teens lived.

Indran claimed that a group of 10 Malay youths aged from 20 to 25 had jumped him and three friends who showed up to help him.

HRP setapak police brutality victims w S Thiagarajan HRP CEC (in orange) When Indran and Saativel went to the police station together with Devi’s male cousin, 33, to file a report, the two teens were locked up, and later that evening went to the flats to round up Ravitharan and M Arvin Raj as well.

All four allege that they were beaten up while in police custody in an attempt to force their confession.

“They beat us and kept telling us that it (the fight) was our fault,” said Indran.

Saathivel added that the ASP had “hit and kicked” him and later threatened that if he did not confess, the ASP would find some other means to arrest him.

The teens also claimed that the police had threatened that they would receive 10 years in jail if they did not confess.

“How can you threaten a 14-year-old with jail? This is against the Child’s Act,” said HRP CEC member S Thiagarajan ( above , in orange shirt ) who led the press conference

'Who protects us from the police?'

“18 police reports have been made on this case so far, but nothing has been done. Why have the police failed to take action? Is it because they (the perpetrators) are Malay?

“Why are they so cruel to the Indians? This is not the first time. The police brutality will never end,” he said.

“When the police threaten the public, where do we go for protection?” added Devi.

VIDEO | 15.37 mins