Protest is raging in Kerala over the incident in which two young Dalit women and an 18-month-old child of one of them were sent to jail under remand in Kannur, Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s home district, for questioning the CPI(M) activists who had allegedly ridiculed them with references to their caste as they were passing by a party office near Thalassery.

“It is wild justice. The reason behind this is Pinarayi Vijayan’s politics of intolerance,” said State Congress president VM Sudheeran while former Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy alleged conspiracy behind the jailing of the Dalit women. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has reportedly said that it would hold an inquiry into the matter.

The First Class Magistrate Court in Thalassery on Saturday afternoon granted bail to the two Dalit women, Akhila (30) and sister Anjana (25) on the basis of an application submitted by their father N Rajan, a Congress leader, but his party is determined to go ahead with its protest programmes.

As per the conditions laid out by the court for granting bail, Akhila and Anjana have to appear at the Thalassery police station every Saturday and should surrender their passports to the court. Rajan claimed that certain officials in the Thalassery police station had secretly admitted to him that his daughters were arrested as per instructions from CPI(M) leaders.

Akhila and Anjana of Kuniyil House at Kuttimakkool in Thalassery, arrested on the charge of attacking a DYFI leader at the Kuttimakkool branch committee office of the CPI(M), were remanded in judicial custody and sent to the Women’s Cell in the Central Prison in Kannur on Friday after they were charged for non-bailable offences.

The incident which had led to the jailing of the Dalit women along with Akhila’s small child had taken place on June 11. According to reports, Shijil, DYFI’s Thiruvangad area secretary and a CPI(M) member, had made bad comments at the two women with references to their caste in front of the Kuttimakkool branch office of the CPI(M) as they were going to a shop.

Enraged by the ridicule, the two women entered the CPI(M) office to question the DYFI activist and, as per reports, allegedly slapped him in the face amidst the quarrel that ensued. It is said that activists at the CPI(M) office had attacked them in return also. It is said that this was not the first time these women were ridiculed by Marxists at the particular party office.

The two women had earlier lodged a complaint with the police that they had been humiliated with references to their caste as they were passing by the party office and had faced attack when they went to the office to ask about it. The police had taken into custody three CPI(M) activists over this complaint.

On Friday, the two women were called to the police station in Thalassery on the basis of a complaint filed by Shijil but with the promise to send them back on bail. However, when they reached the police station they were arrested under serious non-bailable charges and were produced before a court which remanded them in judicial custody for two weeks.

Though the women reportedly described to the police what had actually happened at the CPI(M) office, they had charged them under IPC Section 452, which concerned with house trespass, perpetration of hurt, assault and or wrongful restraint, and Section 324 concerning voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons or means.

Defending the police’s action, the Superintendent of Police for Kannur district said, “It is a pakkah legal procedure. If there are any allegations, we have no problem into looking into them.” State Director General Police loknath Behra said he had sought a report from the Additional DGP, Northern Region.

Reports from Delhi quoted NCSC chairman Pl Punia as saying that the commission would hold inquiry into the development. Stating that the reports on the jailing of the Dalit women along with the small child, had shocked him, Punia said action would be taken against the responsible officials irrespective of how high the ranks they were holding.

“Why were my sisters sent to jailIJ” asked Ajisha, Rajan’s youngest daughter. “Is it because Chief Minister Pinarayi wants to stifle every voice being raised against his party in his home districtIJ Or is it just because we are DalitsIJ Is it all right to punish us when we are the victimsIJ” she asked.