THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Vizhinjam police have registered three more cases against Thiruvananthapuram Latin Catholic archbishop Thomas J Netto in connection with the agitation against the Adani Group’s Vizhinjam seaport project. The archbishop was booked for violating the High Court order directing not to obstruct construction works. Netto has been charged with trespassing into the port project area, which is a high-security zone, and obstructing construction work.
The police have already registered three cases against the archbishop, which had created consternation among community members. Those cases were registered in connection with Saturday’s violence near the port entrance. In the newly registered cases, the archbishop has been named as the first accused.
Meanwhile, the police have slapped serious charges against Fr Theodacious D’Cruz, the convenor of the Vizhinjam Samara Samithi, for his controversial remark on Minister V Abdurahiman. D’Cruz has been booked for attempting to create a rift between Muslim and Christian communities and inciting the mob to create a riot. D’cruz had stirred a hornet’s nest by saying that there was a terrorist in the name of Abdurahiman. D’cruz was reacting to the statement of the minister that those opposing the port construction were traitors.
The Church and D’Cruz himself had apologised for the remark and said it was a case of tongue slip. The police have so far registered five cases in connection with the Vizhinjam police station attack on Sunday and subsequent violence. Meanwhile, the NIA is unlikely to take up the probe into Vizhinjam violence.
Sources said the NIA officials during the visit to Vizhinjam station did not come across any evidence to link any banned organisations with the violence. Sources added that the officers did not even bother to take a copy of the first information report (FIR) lodged in connection with the station attack, indicating that they were not interested in taking up the probe since the incident had no terror connections.