Victims of CPM attack scared to return home

Four members of a family, including three women who were brutally attacked by a group of ten persons near their house in Chittanda in Thirssur district last week, are unwilling to go back to their house from the hospital as they apprehend further attack in the context of the assailants are roaming around freely, allegedly protected by politicians and police.

Meenakshi R Nair (58), her daughters Radhika R Nair (39) and Suchitra R Nair (28) and her brother Unnikrishnan (50), who were attacked on the evening of May 9 when they were coming home from a meeting, are afraid to leave the private hospital in Thrissur where they were undergoing treatment, for their house. Unnikrishnan did not go to their house in Chittanda after he was discharged but went to a relative’s place in Kozhikode.

The fear of the family has grown as the four assailants who were arrested were immediately accorded bail. The family said that they did not want to go back to their home as those who had attacked them were freely roaming in the area and as several political parties including the CPI(M) were supporting the assailants.

Radhika said that they were apprehensive of further attacks as they did not see any reason why the assailants should fear any police action against them. She also said that police were unwilling to arrest Karuvath Rajan, allegedly an illicit brewer and timber smuggler, who was the first accused in the case.

Radhika pointed out that the police had booked only trivial charges against the accused while they had in fact kicked and beat the four of the family. She said that the police had not yet arrested four of the accused including the first accused. All the accounts of the witnesses had spoken of the involvement of Rajan but no case had been initiated against him.

The issue had started with the remand of a youth from Chittanda on false charges by the Wadakanchery police. Rights activists had intervened in the issue after the family of he youth came out against the police act. Amidst these developments, the police sub-inspector who had framed false charges against the youth, was suspended.

It is reported that those who had influenced the police to frame false charges against the youth had begun to engage in a quarrel with his family. A rights activist had been manhandled in connection with this. The meeting was held on Friday in protest against this.

It has also been alleged that the assailants had snatched the gold ornaments of the women of the family during the attack last Friday. Rights activists demanded police security for the family. Deputy Superintendent of Police TK Thomas has submitted his report in the case regarding the framing of false charges against the youth.

Meanwhile, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) will hold a mass convention at Chittanda on Saturday, which will be inaugurated by Anweshi rights group president K Ajitha.

PUCL district president Sreedharan Therambil said that the group would file a petition in the High Court requesting the arrest of all the accused and that a case be initiated against the accused for attempt to murder and attack on women.

Therambil demanded that action should be taken against the police officials including Circle Inspector Viswambharan who had helped the accused by charging only trivial cases against them. He also said that the police had not been prepared to arrest or initiate procedures against the CPI(M) workers who had headed the team that attacked the women.

The PUCL pointed out that local MLA AC Moideen of the CPI(M) had not yet visited the place or the attacked family even after intense protests arose from across the State against the incident.

The Wadakanchery constituency committee of the BJP, the Mandalam committee of the Kerala Mahila Sangham, the Bharateeya Mahila Morcha and the Congress party’s Erumapppetty Mandalam committee protested against the attack and demanded immediate arrest of all the accused.

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