KOZHIKODE: Policemen picked up him from his residence at Kakkanad in Kochi in 2008 for alleged ties with the Maoists. Pallath Govindan Kutty, the editor of pro-Maoist ‘People’s March’ magazine, spent around two months in jail before he was released. He had staged a hunger strike in the jail demanding release.
But even after 14 years, the police have not yet filed the chargesheet against him as they are “still investigating the case”. “We are told that the police are continuing the probe against him,” said Thushar Nimal Sarathi, president of the Janakeeya Manushyavakasa Prasthanam.
There is also a case against Thushar and another activist Jaison C Cooper registered in 2015 but no chargesheet has been filed yet. “Sections of UAPA were also slapped on Kutty and us,” he said. There is another case against theatre activist Swapnesh Babu registered in 2013. There is no progress in the probe in this case also.
Thushar and Jaison will observe a fast at High Court Junction in Ernakulam on March 15 declaring solidarity with Kutty and demanding scrapping the protracted case against him. Activists allege that UAPA has been invoked against them to terrorise and silence them. The police could not take the cases further as there was no evidence against them.
Govindan Kutty was arrested in the backdrop of picking up Maoist leader Malla Raji Reddy and his wife Suguna from Angamaly in December 2007. Kutty had been publishing ‘People’s March’ from 1999 that contained information about the Maoist movement in India.
The government banned the printed version of the magazine but it was available on the internet. Later, the security authorities also blocked the internet presence. Maoists brought out another publication titled ‘Maoist Information Bulletin’ to propagate their ideology. Kutty, who is facing health issues, is currently living in Tripunithura.