Thiruvananthapuram: A policeman in Kerala was suspended after being caught on camera mercilessly kicking a man protesting against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.

Visuals captured by TV cameras showed a protester repeatedly kicked in his private parts by a sub-inspector, as half a dozen policemen held him back. The man, a CPI-M worker in his late 30s, could be seen collapsing in pain from the brutal assault. He was taken to the city medical college.

The police also allegedly lathi-charged other protesters, who had taken out a ‘black flag’ protest against the solar scam, allegedly involving the Chief Minister’s office and his close aides.

The police said the protesters had broken through the police cordon and were rushing to block the Chief Minister’s convoy. “Over the last two months, 40 of our personnel have been seriously injured and 15 petrol bombs were thrown at them during various protests,” said a police officer.

But the sub-inspector was suspended within hours as the state government launched swift damage control at a time it is battling corruption allegations.

Kerala’s opposition Left Democratic Front has been demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation over the solar scam, in which a pair of entrepreneurs, Saritha Nair and Biju Radhakrishnan, allegedly swindled several people and companies by claiming links with powerful people including the Chief Minister, and failing to deliver on solar energy panels they had promised.