E-Paper
Row over arrest of 2 Kerala CPI(M) workers under UAPA
The activists were held for distributing Maoist pamphlets, say police but the CPI, Congress cry foul.
The arrest of two activists of the CPI(M) in north Kerala’s Kozhikode on Saturday under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) has antagonised many in the ruling front and opposition.
The activists were arrested for distributing pamphlets condemning the encounter in which four Maoist leaders were killed in Palakkad district three days ago. Taha Fazal and Alan Shuhaib are students and the party’s branch committee members.
“It is a draconian law. The left front government can’t book two youngsters under this. It is not our policy,” said Communist Party of India (CPI) leader Prakash Babu condemning the incident.
The CPI is the junior partner in the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the southern state.
The president of the CPI(M) Kozhikode district P Mohanan also questioned the police action.
The left parties have taken a consistent position on UAPA and often criticised its misuse.
As the incident triggered outrage chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan sought a report from the state police chief Loknath Behera.
Later, inspector general (north Kerala range) Ashok Yadav said police have seized enough documents and the UAPA charges will remain against them.
The relatives of the activists, who belong to Communist families, said the charges against them were trumped up.
“My son never supported the extremist ideology. It seems somebody must have given these posters to him. Police have jumped to a conclusion without verifying facts,” said the mother of one of the arrested men.
But police insisted that the seized pamphlets supported Maoist ideology and criticised the recent encounter in Palakkad.
Police said both were picked up on Friday night while distributing these pamphlets and their arrest was recorded after raiding their houses on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the CPI reiterated that the encounter was fake.
“We have definite information that the encounter was stage-managed. Some of the tribals told us Naxal leader Manivasagam was killed in police custody,” said Prakash Babu, who visited the encounter spot.
“It seems the video of the encounter released by police was also fake. We want a thorough inquiry into these deaths,” he said.
Opposition Congress has also criticised the encounter. The party’s member of Parliament (MP) from Palakkad VK Sreekandan had visited the encounter site in forest ignoring the warning of police.
But the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported the police action.
Bodies of Manivasagam, a leader of the Kabani and Bhawani ‘dalam’ of the Maoist group, and three others including a woman were recovered after the encounter with commandos of the state police, called ‘Thunderbolt.
Many right activists said ailing Manivasagam, a high-ranking leader of the outfit, was planning his surrender and had sent many feelers to the police in this regard.
His wife Chandra, also a Maoist, is currently lodged in a prison in Tamil Nadu.
A court in Kerala had ordered the police not to cremate their bodies until further order.
