THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The city police on Saturday arrested the SFI activist who slapped former diplomat and vice-chairman of Kerala State Higher Education Council, T P Sreenivasan, at Kovalam on Friday. The accused is SFI district vice-president J S Sarath. Sarath had gone absconding since the incident. He was taken into custody by the special shadow police squad of the city police formed under the directive of State Police Chief T P Senkumar from a tea shop near the Ayurveda College junction, around 4 pm.
Sarath was later brought to the Kovalam police station for recording the arrest and produced before the magistrate at Neyyattinkara.
City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar said that the special shadow police team had been searching for him since the incident.
“It is a serious offence and we are not taking it lightly. The accused will be charged with wrongful confinement and obstructing the public servant in discharge of duties under section 341 and 332 of the IPC”, he said. The incident pertaining to the case occurred on Friday, around 8.45 am, when Sreenivasan tried to walk through the SFI protest, without police protection, into the hotel that was the venue for the Global Education Meet. When Sreenivasan tried to get through the mob, the accused followed him and slapped him on his face. Sreenivasan fell on the ground in the impact of the attack. Sarath has also been ousted from the post of district vice-president of SFI. He was shown the door after the state committee took a decision on Saturday noon.
The state committee also condemned the attack and stated that the incident was uncalled for. The other 11 persons who were stationed at the spot during the incident and who attacked Sreenivasan were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days. Meanwhile, the police initiated disciplinary action against the five policemen who remained mute spectators when the incident occurred. The cops, including two SIs and three constables, will be sent for intensive refresher training at the Police Academy in Thrissur as part of departmental action.
‘slap on the face of Kerala culture’
T’Puram: Thirteen vice-chancellors and nine pro vice-chancellors of various state varsities have condemned the attack on KSHEC vice-chairman T P Sreenivasan by SFI activists. In a joint statement, the academics termed the attack as a “slap on the face of Kerala’s culture”. The state as well as the country was shamed due to the attack before foreign dignitaries who came for the GEM, the statement said.