The Kerala Police under the CPI(M)-led lDF Government on Wednesday roughed up Mahija, mother of Jishnu Pranoy an engineering student and SFI activist who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in the hostel of his college three months back, and other relatives at Thiruvananthapuram and allegedly arrested them forcibly as they were staging a protest at the gates of the office of the Director General of Police seeking justice to Jishnu.
The Congress-led Opposition UDF called for a State-wide shutdown on Thursday while the BJP would observe hartal in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram districts in protest against the incident. Mahija, her husband, brother and some other relatives and friends were in the capital to protest the police’s failure to catch the culprits behind the death of Jishnu, who according to them was murdered by the authorities of the self-financing college where he was studying.
“The police blocked us when we were peacefully preparing for the protest. A circle Inspector of police was explaining to me why we were being blocked when amidst the confusion, a Sub-Inspector punched in my neck and kicked at my ribs while my sister fell down. The police attacked her also and dragged her to their vehicle,” said Mahija’s brother Sreejith.
As the police personnel dragged her through the road and forcibly took her to the vehicle in full view of dozens of TV cameras and a large number of newsmen, Mahija could be heard crying out, “Don’t you have any mercyIJ I am a mother who has lost my son and waiting for justice for all these days.” The police claimed they had not arrested any of Jishnu’s relatives.
At the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, where she was admitted, Mahija said that the police had attacked her when she fell down and dragged her and that they had first attacked her brother Sreejith, who also was admitted to the same hospital. Jishnu’s sister Arya said she would go on a hunger strike at the DGP office gates.
Both Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and DGP loknath Behera justified the police action by stating that the trouble erupted due to interference by ‘external elements’ that had into infiltrated the group of Jishnu’s parents, relatives and friends. However, the DGP admitted that such an incident should not have occurred. According to sources, four persons, who had been trying to help Jishnu’s family, had been arrested.
Jishnu Pranoy (18), a first-year-BTech student of the self-financing Nehru College of Engineering at Pampady, Thrissur, one of the units of the Nehru Group of educational institutions, was found hanging in his hostel room on January 6. The police had termed it as a case of suicide but his relatives hold that he was murdered by the college authorities.
The police had registered a case by naming six persons belonging to the college management and staff, as accused. However, no substantial action had been taken except the arrest of Nehru group chairman P Krishnadas, who was released on bail immediately, the other day. Jishnu’s relatives allege that the police are trying to save the immensely rich college management and staff.
Protests raged across Kerala against the incident on Wednesday. Tension prevailed in Kozhikode and Malappuram when student and youth outfits took out protest marches.
In Malappuram, seven activists of the Youth Congress and KSU suffered injuries in police action against their march. Students of the Nehru College in Pampady also protested against the attack on Jishnu’s mother.
Former Chief Minister and veteran Marxist VS Achuthanandan, who termed the incident as unfortunate, called up the DGP and ‘reprimanded’ him by asking whether he was trying to tarnish the lDF Government’s image in the context of the April 12 Malappuram lok Sabha election.
“Chief Minister Pinarayi should apologise to the people of Kerala. The Government’s policy is to help the neo-rich and not the victims,” said former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy while Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, who described the incident as painful, condemnable and shocking, wanted Behera to be removed as DGP.
Stating that the police were refusing to change though the Government had changed, Kanam Rajendran, State secretary of the CPI, second biggest constituent of the lDF, said such an incident should not have taken place. State BJP chief Kummanam Rajasekharan said the incidents Kerala had been witnessing under the leftist rule reminded one of the Emergency days.