Police demand late night withdrawal of Surathkal tollgate protest
Surathkal: Surathkal Police visited the houses of and issued notices late Saturday night to the leaders of the group of protesters against the Surathkal toll gate.
Notices have been issued to leaders like Muneer Katipalla, B K Imtiaz, Prathibha Kulai and Raghavendra Rao, said sources.
The police notice issued on Saturday night mentions that the leaders had earlier been instructed to call a meeting and assure the authorities that the protest against the toll gate was withdrawn. The protest committee, however, had refused to do so.
It is learned that the leaders have now been instructed to visit the office of the DCP immediately on receiving the notice and declare in writing a closure of the protest, the sources added.
Katipalla has questioned local legislators on the propriety of such a move by the police. “Do you send policemen to the houses of fighters at midnight? Do you send them to meet even lady fighters?” he has asked MLAs Bharath Shetty, Umakanth Kotian and Vedvyas Kamath, adding that the people no longer fear such moves. “You have been stripped bare before the people of Tulunadu,” he has said in the tweet.
Imtiaz, who spoke to Vartha Bharati on the police visit and notice, said such moves have been made in the last six years. “The protest committee, however, does not fear such attempts to intimidate us. The struggle opposing the toll gate now not just consists of the committee, it has grown to be the common people’s fight. There is no fear about extreme measures like on Saturday,” he said.
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BJP workers allegedly attack children during Christmas carol roadshow in Kerala’s Palakkad: Reports
Palakkad: A group of children celebrating Christmas through a carol roadshow was allegedly attacked by BJP workers in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Sunday night.
According to local reports, the incident occurred in Pudussery area of Palakkad, where over 25 children, mostly aged around 13, were moving from house to house singing Christmas carols. Reports state that a BJP worker identified as Ashwin Raj, along with others, allegedly assaulted the children and vandalised their musical equipment.
According to the police and eyewitness accounts, the children were using a band set that belonged to a local CPI(M) office, which had the party’s name written on it.
Allegedly objecting to this, the accused and his associates reportedly lured the children on the pretext of offering them money and then assaulted them. The band set used by the children was also smashed.
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The Town Police have arrested Ashwin Raj, a local BJP worker who has been named as the prime accused in the case. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused who fled the scene.
Speaking to the media, one of the injured children said, “We were using the band just for fun. When they saw that it had CPM written on it, they took us aside and beat us.”
"We had given the band set that was in our office out of love when the children asked for it. The fact that these young children, who do not know the intricacies of politics, were attacked shows the criminal mentality of the BJP workers," local CPIM leaders expressed outrage.
A police officer told PTI that the arrested accused is already booked under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA).
The sections invoked include Section 192 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police added.
