CPM activists in jail thrash Kannur warden

CPI(M) prisoners of Kannur central jail on Saturday attacked the warden of the third block of the jail Saji P Nambiar. He was attacked and thrashed doing roll call among the prisoners. Saji said that he was abused and beaten up by a group of four CPI(M) prisoners.

The injured warden was admitted to the Kannur district hospital. Saji said that the CPI(M) prisoners had abused him earlier also.

The Kannur central jail which is dominated by prisoners of the CPI(M) is totally under the control of the party and the CPI(M) has even branch committee in the jail. With the LDF coming to power and one of the known tough guys of the Kannur CPI(M) politics, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan assuming office as the Home Minister of the State, the prisoners of the central jail were a relieved lot. The Home Minister was a regular visitor of the jail to take in his stride the known criminal gangs in the party most of whom are serving life terms and some serving long duration imprisonments.

In Kannur those leaders who do not subscribe to the violence of politics do not survive and being a shrewd politician Kodiyeri knows this more than any one else and hence his appeasement of the prisoners.

It may be recalled that two prisoners had recently jumped from Kannur central jail and one of the prisoners, Deepak was later arrested from Palakad. There are allegations that Deepak has jumped jail at the instance of a senior police officer who had used him for some heinous crimes and then later he had surrendered.

Kannur central jail has also gained notoriety owing to the organised crimes between two sections of prisoners and there were representations for the removal of a section of the prisoners from the jail to the Viyyur jail.

There were also allegations that one of the most upright officers of the State police MGA Raman was shifted from the post of jail DGP at the insistence of the State Home Minister after he had taken tough measures against the wrong ways of the prisoners without any bias. This had led to a series of representations from the Kannur CPI(M) leadership to the Home Minister who had instantly obliged bringing in a political storm in the power centres of the State.

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