Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday condemned the act of Kannur Superintendent of Police Yathish Chandra, who was seen punishing three people by making them squat on the road, as they ventured out on the streets.

"This does not augur well and a report from the officials concerned has been sought. It is acts like these which play spoilsport to the general excellent work done by the police under trying times. These sort of acts won't be tolerated," he said as the video of the SP's action went viral.

Kannur is the the home district of Vijayan.

However, Chandra told the media that "since we did not want to use the cane against older people, we made them to do it".

"People fail to understand the reason why they are asked to remain home. This is the only way we can keep down the spread and for some reason, people do not understand it," he said. In the video, he is seen telling the three, as they were engaged in squats, "Why is that you fail to understand what the media, the police, the governments are saying all the time... not to venture out."

State Congress president Mulappally Ramachandran said what they all saw is "totally unacceptable".

"Such an act never even happened during colonial rule. This should have never happened and it cannot be accepted," said Ramachandran, a former Union Minister of State for Home. State police chief Loknath Behra reacted by saying personally he does not accept what happened.

"Now, we will wait for a report on what happened.. let it come," said Behra.

Chandra was in the news when at the height of the Sabarimala temple protests in 2018, he was seen arguing with the then Union Minister of State Pon Radhakarishnan, when he reached the temple town.