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‘Will protest as long as I am alive,’says 93-year-old activist on being sent to judicial custody by Kerala court
Vasu was arrested by the Kozhikode Medical College police on July 29 this year, following a long-pending warrant in connection with a protest he organised in November 2016
“There are double standards for justice in this country and I will not accept it,” 93-year-old Ayinoor Vasu, popularly known as ‘Grow Vasu’, told a clutch of reporters outside a Kerala court on Friday before being whisked away by police into judicial remand.
The Kunnamangalam Judicial First Class Magistrate court in Kozhikode on Friday extended the judicial remand of Vasu, a human rights activist and former Maoist leader, who perplexed the authorities by refusing to pay a nominal fine or sign a self-bond for bail in a case dating back to 2016.
The nonagenarian was arrested by the Kozhikode Medical College police on July 29 this year, following a long-pending warrant in connection with a protest he organised along with a few others in front of the Kozhikode Medical College hospital’s mortuary in November 2016, where the bodies of two Maoist leaders, killed in alleged fake encounters by the police, were kept.
Vasu had protested against the killings of Maoist leaders Kuppu Devaraj and Ajitha, for which he was booked by the police for the charges of unlawful assembly and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty.
“The case was filed against him and a few others in 2016 under sections 143, 147 and 283 read with 149 of the Indian Penal Code [IPC]. The others [arrested along with Vasu] paid fines and posted bail, whereas he was not ready to do any of that,” an officer from Medical College police station said.
After his arrest, Vasu was produced before a magistrate, but he refused to apply for bail and was sent to judicial custody the same day. On Friday (August 11), his remand was extended till August 25.
The activist told reporters, “I had conducted a protest [in 2016] which was against the acts of the police... I accept the offence and the punishment. Two people were killed - Ajitha and Kuppu Devaraj. Moreover, eight others were killed in the Western Ghats and they were innocent. For such illegal acts, no case was registered or any investigation announced.” “There are different laws for different people and I told the court that I will not accept this. I have my own principles, as part of which, I lead my life,” he added.
When asked about having to spend time in jail for adopting such principles, he replied, “I have spent more time in jail than my own home. I will protest as long as I am alive.”
The aged trade unionist also criticised chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for “trying hard to become the biggest corporate leader in the state,” even though he is the biggest communist leader currently.
“The public is in deep slumber right now and they are being made slaves by the administration. I don’t think people will ever realise this and I don’t think I will live long enough before they understand it,” he quipped.
Even as Vasu spent time behind bars for the last fortnight, there have been demands by his friends and activists that the state should withdraw the charges against him, considering his advanced age.
