A march staged by Youth Congress activists to the Vandiperiyar police station in Idukki on Thursday, in protest against the recent acquittal of Arjun, a POCSO case accused, turned violent. The march was led by Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkoottathil. When the protesters tried to remove the barricades set up by the police to restrain them, the police used water cannons on them.
Inaugurating the protest march, Mr. Mamkoottathil said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was speaking like a ‘retired goonda.’ “The police officers who beat Youth Congress workers with bamboo batons will be hardpressed to get a pension when they retire. The police force has avoided the use of bamboo batons for long, but some officers carry them even today. They should study the police manual if they are unaware of the norms,” said Mr. Mamkoottathil, referring to the recent instances of police beating up Youth Congress activists for staging protests against Navakerala Sadas, the State Cabinet outreach programme, in various parts of the State.
Clashes ensue
After the protest march, the Youth Congress and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists clashed at Vandiperiyar town. The Youth Congress members alleged that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and DYFI workers had camped in front of the party office to attack them. Activists on both the sides were injured after the police baton-charged them.
Mr. Mamkoottathil alleged that the police beat up Youth Congress activists and left out those in the CPI(M). Later, CPI(M) activists staged a protest march in Vandiperiyar alleging Youth Congress attack on their workers.
