Kerala secretariat march violence: Youth Cong state president Rahul Mamkootathil held, remanded

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 9 (PTI) Kerala Youth Congress President Rahul Mamkootathil was arrested by police and brought here on Tuesday for allegedly leading the violent attacks during a recent march to the state secretariat.

This led to widespread protests by workers of Congress and its youth outfit in the state and sparked sharp reactions by senior party leaders including KPCC President K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan.

Later in the day, a local court here remanded Mamkootathil in judicial custody till January 22, after considering a medical report that indicated he had no major health issues.

The secretariat march was organised last month to highlight alleged atrocities against Youth Congress workers during the state government's Nava Kerala Sadas programme led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Cantonment police here took Mamkootathil into custody from his residence in Pathanamthitta district this morning. Despite local Congress workers rushing to his house and protesting after learning about the development, the police removed them and took Mamkootathil to Thiruvananthapuram.

Questions were raised about the timing of the arrest. In a statement, the Youth Congress alleged that Mamkootathil was present in Thiruvananthapuram for the past 20 days after the secretariat march but they chose to arrest him only this morning in front of his mother.

After the police action, his mother said Mamkootathil attended a public function even yesterday and that this early morning arrest from the house was a "trap".

"Majority of the police personnel who came to the house didn't know what was happening. Some of them just said that they had a directive from the top to arrest Rahul from home," she later told reporters.

From the Cantonment station, police took Mamkootathil to the Government Fort Hospital here for medical examination, but he was not allowed to talk to the media and was forcefully pushed towards the police vehicle en route to the court.

"It was Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's decision to arrest me in front of my mother, but I won't stop my fight here," the Youth Congress president said, sitting in the police vehicle.

When his bail application was considered, the prosecution argued that the protest march was organised under Mamkootathil's leadership, accusing him of making no efforts to prevent the co-accused from engaging in violence.

Quoting the police report, it further argued that, persuaded by Mamkootathil, other Youth Congress activists, unleashed violence.

The prosecution also insisted that the latest medical report be considered to understand his health status.

The court later sent him for a second round of medical examination at the general hospital here in the evening.

As doctors provided him with a 'clinically fit' certificate, and the police presented the same, the court rejected his bail plea and remanded him in judicial custody until January 22.

Earlier, Sudhakaran and Satheesan also protested against his arrest in strong words.

In a statement, Sudhakaran said that the Congress party would respond strongly to Mamkootathil's dramatic arrest, alleging a "clear-cut conspiracy" between the CPI(M) and the police.

Criticising the manner in which he was arrested, the KPCC chief said there was no need to treat the state president of the Youth Congress like a criminal by taking him into custody in an early morning raid, and that he could have instead been served a notice and summoned to the police station.

Satheesan also said Mamkootathil was neither a criminal nor an anti-national or terrorist.

"The same government and police which allowed a person accused of raping and killing a six-year-old child to escape from justice have arrested Mamkootathil from his house early in the morning," Satheesan said.

The LoP was referring to the recent acquittal of the accused in a case of rape and murder of a minor girl in Vandiperiyar in Idukki.

The Congress and the Youth Congress strongly condemned the Mamkootathil's arrest and warned of strong protests against the Pinarayi Vijayan government. Alleging that the arrest of its president was unprecedented, Youth Congress workers accused the police of "treating him like a terrorist" and protested in various districts across the state.

They blocked roads and national highways in some places and raised slogans against the police and government besides holding protest marches. In Thrissur, protesters tried to jump police barricades and burnt an effigy of the chief minister.

Besides Mamkootathil, the police had registered a case against Satheesan, making him the first accused in connection with the violence during the secretariat march. The Congress leader has been charged under non-bailable sections of the IPC for allegedly attacking the police and participating in destruction of public property during the march on December 21.

Around 300 Youth Congress activists, including Mamkootathil, former president Shafi Parambil (MLA) and M Vincent (MLA), have also been implicated in connection with the incident. PTI LGK SDP ANE