At half past eight on Saturday, Geo Pious and his father were heading home for the night, their shop at Kothamangalam shut for the weekend. On the way, the motorbike they were travelling in was stopped and before they realised what was happening, someone had thrown acid on them. Twenty-five-year old Geo and his middle-aged father fell with burns spreading across their bodies.
But Geo, block president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) – youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) – was not attacked for political reasons, says an official at the Kothamangalam police station.
“It was by a man called Kallattil Pious, who had earlier had an argument with them over the butcher’s shop run by Geo and his father. A case has been registered under sections 326 A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid etc.), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 294 B (sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words, in or near any public place), 506 (2) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The accused is under surveillance and he is admitted at the Kozhencherry Medical College,” the police official tells TNM.
DYFI workers rushed Geo and his father to the St Joseph’s Hospital in Kothamangalam and from there to the Angamaly Eye Hospital, fearing injury for the eyes. “Geo’s father Pious’s eyes were affected so we admitted him there. We then took Geo – whose eyes were unhurt – to Ernakulam Medical Centre,” says Adarsh, of DYFI, Kothamangalam block.
A photo of Geo’s burnt upper body, coated with medicine, soon spread across social media, DYFI workers writing spiritedly that Geo Pious will be back.
“I am standing outside the Medical Centre [in Ernakulam] because I cannot bear to see Geo in this state. It was an attempt to murder him by pouring acid. I know this will not become a discussion and that media will not be interested. He is the DYFI Kothamangalam block president, Ernakulam district committee member. They decided to kill him but he is not ready to die. Geo Pious will come back,” wrote Facebook user Arsho Kanjirappuzha.
By Sunday evening, Geo’s condition is stable, says the public relations officer of Ernakulam Medical Centre. “He was admitted after midnight and there are 20% burns. His upper body and parts of his face have been burnt. The condition is stable as of now,” says the PRO.