KOCHI: The row over the alleged ‘caste wall’ in Vadayambadi near Puthencruz has become murkier with the police arresting Dalit activists who were on a hunger strike against the preventing of their right of way by a temple administration committee.
According to the police officers, Prakash, Ramakrishnan, Prasad, Praveen, Rejeesh, Ayyappan Kutty and Madhavan – all activists of the Dalit Bhu Avakaashamunnani - were arrested on charges under IPC sections 153, 188, 280 and 34. Besides, Ananthu, a journalism trainee from Muvattupuzha; Abhilash, an engineering graduate from Kannur; and Sasidharan, a local resident, were booked on charges of obstructing the duty of a public servant.
In protest to the police action, the Dalit organisation staged a march to the Puthencruz police station later in the evening. The Dalit Bhu Avakaashamunnani leaders, who organised the protest, said a police team barged into the protest venue around 5.30 am on Sunday and forcefully arrested seven members. Further, they also unleashed attack on the rest of the people in the vicinity and arrested three persons, who attempted to live-stream the police action through social media.
P J Manuel, one of the protesters, said the police officers who had reached the protest venue along with revenue officials, acted unilaterally and dragged their activists into the police vehicle without any provocation. “After clearing off the protesters, they also pulled down the protest camp as directed by the temple authorities,” he added.
According to the local residents, three persons who live-streamed the video, were subjected to brutal assault in full public view. The police officers, however, remained tight-lipped on the actual reason behind the assault.
It was in April 2017, protesters pulled down a 400-metre compound wall constructed around a ground near the Bhajanamadam Bhagavathi temple, owned by the Nair Service Society (NSS). The wall prevented the right of way for Dalits residing in four settlements in the nearby areas.
The Dalit Bhu Avakaashamunnani launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding cancellation of the title deed given to the NSS for revenue land.
The dispute over the 95-cents property, in which the caste wall stood, began with the temple authorities denying permission to the Dalits to hold a festival at the venue. The move by the temple authorities, which drew sharp reactions from various quarters, was settled on an intervention by the District Collector.
The wall constructed around a ground near the Bhajanamadam Bhagavathi temple, owned by the NSS prevented the right of way for Dalits residing in four settlements in the nearby areas