Kerala police have tendered an apology to the state human rights panel for forcing three passers-by to do squats as public punishment for violating Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in Kannur district two years ago.

In a report submitted to the panel, the deputy inspector-general (DIG) of the Kannur range conceded that the act was “completely wrong” but by IPS officer Yathish Chandra, the then district police chief, did it with good intentions as there was a possibility of the spread of the pandemic if strict action was not taken against those violating lockdown curbs.

The DIG, in the report, requested forgiveness for Chandra’s act, which had triggered widespread controversy and prompted chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to criticise the action.

The police submitted the report based on a case registered by the state human rights commission (SHRC) on its own considering the media reports on the incident that happened in March 2020.

Video footage showing Chandra forcing three persons who had gathered in front of a tailoring shop in Valapattanam here to perform etham (squats) under the scorching sun had been widely circulated on social media.

K. Baiju Nath, judicial member of the SHRC, asked the police to desist from such measures and directed the cops to stick to the procedures in the Police Act while initiating measures against law violators, a panel statement said on Thursday.

Unleashing violence on lawbreakers and enforcing the law on their own cannot be tolerated in any way, he told the police.

The panel, however, praised the law-enforcers for the fight against Covid-19 and said they had done a commendable job in effectively implementing lockdown curbs to prevent the spread of the pandemic.