Amidst mounting protests, including even from ruling parties CPI(M) and CPI, against what critics described as Police Raj as alleged in the detention of a writer and a rights activist on sedition charge for disrespecting National Anthem and in a UAPA case respectively, Kerala’s Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked the State Police not to slap sedition charge on people accused in cases of disrespecting the Anthem.
Intense protests had come up in Kerala from left leaders, rights activists, writers and cultural leaders and in the social media against the detention of writer Kamal C Chavara on sedition charge under Section 124 A of the IPC for disrespecting the National Anthem in one of his books and rights activist KP Nadeer in a Maoism-related case. Both were released later.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, has reportedly instructed the police to ensure that the charge of sedition under Section 124 A does not figure in chargesheets submitted in cases relating to disrespect to the National Anthem. However, he has made it clear that it is perfectly alright to book anyone who disrespects the Anthem.
The Chief Minister’s action came in the context of the attack unleashed by leaders of his own party CPI(M) including State CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and former Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan and State CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran against the police for the alleged “fascist” method it had adopted in the detention of the writer and in many other recent cases.
Faced with political pressure and protests, Director General of Police loknath Behera came out with an explanation on the two cases. “The police haven’t arrested Nadeer. They had only called him to clear some suspicions and released him later.” Charge under Section 124 had been slapped on Kamal but that charge was not maintainable in the case, he said.
However, Nadeer said on Tuesday that he was indeed arrested. The police had taken him into custody saying they were arresting him, he said and claimed that he had seen documents which made it clear that Section 124 A and provisions of UAPA had been invoked against him. Also, the police carried out a search at Nadeer’s house in Balussery, Kozhikode after his release.
Writer Kamal was taken into custody in Kozhikode on the basis of an FIR registered in Karunagappally, Kollam under Section 124 A as per complaints from Yuva Morcha activists alleging that he had dishonoured the Anthem through his novel, Smasanangalude Nottupusthakam (Notebook on Graveyards) and a Facebook post.
Protests against the police over the detention intensified after Kamal alleged that a top police official from Karunagappally had threatened to break his backbone while he was in custody in Kozhikode. The writer also disclosed that the officer had humiliated him by criticising him for having an Adivasi woman as his life partner.
The police had taken Nadeer into custody from the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode on Sunday when he had gone to help Kamal who had been admitted there after he developed health problems. The police detained Nadeer by accusing him of distributing extremist literature along with other Maoists in an Adivasi colony at Aralam in Kannur district.
At least a dozen people had been detained in Kerala for disrespecting National Anthem since the recent Supreme Court order on expressing respect for it. Also, complaints had been coming up against the police about harassment in the name of Maoist links since two extremists were shot dead in an alleged encounter in the Nilambur forests in Malappuram district on November 24.
Several CPI(M) and CPI leaders came down heavily on the State police for not acting in accordance with the State Government’s policies. The Marxists are alleging that controversies over the National Anthem are being stirred up by the Sangh Pariwar as part of a plan to divert attention from the setbacks being suffered by the Centre since currency demonetization.