Two police officers attached to the Pandikkad police station were suspended on Tuesday following the death of a man held by the police.
Moideenkutty Alungal, 36, from Panthallur near Manjeri died at a private hospital at Perinthalmanna while being in police custody on Tuesday morning.
District Police Chief S. Sasidharan suspended civil police officers Aldous Wins and Shamseer T.P. after local people raised an outcry over the death, alleging police torture.
The police summoned Moideenkutty to the station on Monday in connection with a quarrel at a temple festival at Panthallur on Sunday. However, those who accompanied him to the station said he was singled out by the police and tortured.
Moideenkutty collapsed at the station following the ordeal and was later shifted to a hospital at Perinthalmanna, where he died in the early hours of Tuesday. Doctors who treated Moideenkutty said he had a weak heart.
Meanwhile, local people raised a banner of protest against the police personnel of Pandikkad station, demanding action against them.
Saleem Anakkayam, a social worker who went to the station to inquire about the condition of Moideenkutty, said he had been treated rudely by the police.