At a time when Kerala is seething over police action against the parents of Jishnu Pranoy – a Nehru College student who was found dead in his hostel room under mysterious circumstances in January, the CPI(M) has issued a statement justifying the alleged assault and arrest.
The statement issued by State Secretariat of the CPI(M) on Friday notes that police action while handling the protest on Wednesday was in tandem with the declared policy of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to stand with the victims. “The police behaviour towards Jishnu’s family members was compassionate even when those who accompanied them to the DGP office tried to provoke the police,” the statement said.
Friday’s statement comes two days after relatives of Jishnu Pranoy were forcibly dragged and then arrested by police for staging a march to the DGP office. The 18-year-old’s parents have been demanding that the police arrest those accused in the case.
Though prime accused, Chairman of Nehru group of institutions Krishnadas was arrested, he was granted bail by the High Court. Two more accused are absconding.
“Mahija lay down on the road when the police tried to move her. Then a woman police personnel tried giving her a helping hand, lifted her from the road and shifted her to the hospital. Mahija was not beaten or assaulted,” reads the statement.
The statement has come at a time when the CPI (M), the leading party in the ruling LDF has been criticised for not taking action against the police officials and for not removing DGP Loknath Behra. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also justified the police action. “It's a deliberate political move to create an anti-government sentiment in the name of a mother who is mourning the death of her son. The people of Kerala should realise the political tactics of BJP and Congress who have been trying to fight against LDF under the shield of motherhood. It can’t be viewed as accidental that the protest was organised on the same day when the state was celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first democratically elected government,” the statement adds.
It also says that the relatives of Jishnu, who announced indefinite strike, asked for permission to meet the DGP and it was granted. “But they took the stand that the other protesters who accompanied them should also be allowed to enter the DGP office, which was not possible. Some people in the group tried to provoke the police.”
The statement observes, “But since Mahija has complained against the police action, an impartial enquiry will be conducted and action will be taken if anybody is found guilty. The death of Jishnu is not the creation of the LDF. It was the United Democratic Government led by AK Antony who gave the green signal for starting self-financing colleges in the state. If the UDF was in power, no action would have been taken against Krishnadas. Krishnadas and some of the other accused in the case belong to families which support the Congress. There are also reports that some BJP leaders have been helping Krishnadas. Jishnu's family has not still complained against the Special Investigation Team which is investigating the case.”
However, there have been voices from within the CPI(M) who have hit out at the police action. While Polit Bureau member MA Baby had hit out at the police, senior leader VS Achuthanandan has also declared his support to Jishnu’s family, which all have put the government and the CPI(M) on the back foot.