Alleging custodial intimidation and police excesses, BJP councillor R. Sugathan on July 1 told a Kerala court that the investigating officer threatened him with permanent imprisonment after he was arrested at gunpoint from his residence on the night of June 9. Sugathan informed the court that the Circle Inspector allegedly behaved brutally while taking him for a medical check-up and warned him, “A policeman can put you behind bars,” adding that he would never be released from jail. Taking serious note of the allegations, the court directed the concerned police officer to appear before it.
Sugathan quoted the police threat that he would be caught like a fish. The court asked who had taken Sugathan for the medical check-up. The court also asked whether they were the same officers who had brought him from Viyyur Central Jail. The court wondered how the Vattiyoorkavu Station Sub-Inspector had accompanied Sugathan since he had not been handed over to police custody. The court recorded Sugathan’s grievances.
Sugathan’s counsel stated before the court that the police were unnecessarily hunting for him. The court ordered that either the Circle Inspector or any other responsible police officer should appear before it. The court also wondered how Sugathan could be sent with the police when he had already complained about the harassment he had suffered.
The above incident vindicates the BJP’s allegation that the arrest of R. Sugathan was nothing but a politically motivated action. The idea was to unseat the Mayor and eliminate the BJP’s majority.
Meanwhile, with BJP councillor R. Sugathan remaining in jail in connection, the CPM intensified its offensive against the BJP-led Thiruvananthapuram Corporation On June 25, CPM councillors, accompanied by party workers from outside, unleashed hooliganism inside the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation in an attempt to harass Mayor V.V. Rajesh and BJP councillors.
The attempt was to besiege Mayor V.V. Rajesh. Women councillors were injured. CPM goons came prepared for violence as if they were protesting against the BJP councillors who had taken the oath in the name of God, Bharat Mata, Attukal Devi, Sree Narayana Gurudev and RSS martyrs.
The High Court’s verdict in connection with the petition filed by a CPM councillor stated on June 24 that swearing in the name of Gods and martyrs was not legally valid. However, the court rejected the plea to cancel their elections.
Within hours of the verdict, nineteen BJP councillors retook the oath on June 24 itself. The 20th councillor, R. Sugathan, remains in jail in connection with what the BJP alleges is a politically motivated case. Naturally, the chapter should have been closed then and there.
However, the CPM wants the Mayor’s resignation. The councillors were accompanied by CPM goons. They tried to block Mayor V.V. Rajesh, leading to angry scenes that were telecast live. One woman councillor sustained a head injury in the violence. Even Deputy Mayor Asha Natha was attacked. Police intervention could not control the violent CPM goons. Women councillors complained that they were trampled upon by the CPM goons. They suffered severe back and shoulder injuries.
Opposition councillors had stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony held on June 24 despite receiving communication about it. However, they now allege that the oath-taking ceremony was held in camera. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) supported the LDF’s version, reflecting the functioning of the INDI Alliance.
BJP leader K. Surendran alleged that the police remained mute spectators. Nine councillors were injured, one of whom sustained a head injury. Women councillors fell during the attack, and the CPM goons trampled upon them.
Senior BJP leader V. Muraleedharan alleged that the incident is the latest example of the CPM’s attempt to defeat its political opponents through muscle power. He stated that the UDF government’s police machinery did not act to stop the violence. He described it as another example of the alleged conspiracy of the INDI Alliance in Kerala. He demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident. According to him, the violence is one of several dirty tricks employed by the CPM to topple the BJP’s rule in the Corporation.
