Kothamangalam town along the eastern suburbs of Ernakulam district bordering Idukki district turned into a battleground after the Congress staged a protest with the body of the woman killed by a wild elephant at Kanjiraveli near Adimaly on Monday. The police later resorted to lathicharge to disperse the violent protesters.
The drama started unfolding after the Congress launched a protest with the body of the victim by pitching three makeshift tents at Post Office (P.O.) Junction in the heart of Kothamangalam town around noon even before the inquest and post-mortem could be conducted. A debate raged for the rest of the day as to whether the Congress had the permission of the victim’s family in taking away the body from the Kothamangalam Taluk Hospital. The ruling CPI(M) and a section of victim’s relatives said the Congress did not have the permission. The Congress maintained it did.
The protest was led by the Congress MP Dean Kuriakose, MLAs Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Eldhose Kunnappilly, and Ernakulam District Congress Committee president Muhammad Shiyas.
As tension mounted, the police intensified the mobilisation of forces from across the Ernakulam Rural limits and before long the town was teeming with police officers. Vehicles approaching the town were also checked and diverted.
The Congress insisted that the body should not be released unless the State government came up with a permanent solution to the ever intensifying human-wildlife conflict that has been claiming lives along the high ranges of Kerala with alarming frequency of late and left farming in the affected areas in peril.
Tension between the protesting Congress activists and the police kept rising and threatened to turn acrimonious. Traders along P.O. Junction and its immediate neighbourhood downed shutters. As attempts to get the body back from the custody of protestors proved futile even after two hours, the police resorted to lathicharge around 2.30 p.m. The police also pulled down the makeshift tents.
Addressing the media shortly thereafter, Mr. Kuzhalnadan dubbed the police action as arrogant and accused the State government of being on an ego trip in the face of a critical issue faced by the people of the high ranges. He claimed that the Congress had agreed to release the body after holding discussions with the District Collector, before which the police resorted to lathicharge.
The Congress also alleged that the victim’s brother Suresh was dragged along and beaten up by the police. He was later taken to the hospital.
The police then shifted the body of the woman back to the taluk hospital in an ambulance of the Fire and Rescue Services around 3 p.m. The scene then shifted to the taluk hospital where Ministers Roshy Augustine and P. Rajeeve turned up and held discussions with the victim’s relatives behind close doors. District Collector N.S.K. Umesh and District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena were also present.
The Congress leadership, after deliberations, declared that Mr. Kuzhalnadan and Mr. Kunnappilly would go on an indefinite hunger strike at P.O. Junction from 6 p.m. demanding compensation for the victim’s family and a permanent solution to the human-wildlife conflict.
Around 5.30 p.m., an ambulance arrived at the courtyard of Block E of the hospital. The woman’s body was shifted and the ambulance left around 5.45 p.m.
