KOCHI: A tussle resulting from a no-confidence motion at the Muvattupuzha municipality has led to two women councillors, of the Congress, being charged with attempt to commit culpable homicide. The Muvattupuzha police have registered the case against municipality vice-chairperson Sini Biju and councillor Joice Mary Antony following a complaint lodged by another Congress councillor, Prameela Girish Kumar. Though the two accused councillors applied for anticipatory bail, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court dismissed their petition.
The series of events unfolded after Prameela moved a no-confidence motion against welfare standing committee chairperson Rajasree Raju. In retaliation, the accused persons trespassed into the office room of the Ayyankali Employment Guarantee Scheme on August 4. Sini allegedly locked the doors of the room, and abused and slapped Prameela. According to the complaint, the accused duo also attempted to stab Prameela in the chest using a pair of scissors. When Prameela resisted the attempt using her right hand, she sustained an injury to her right ring finger. Later, she was dragged to the floor and beaten up further. The accused also cut her hair, the complaint said.
The case was registered under various sections of IPC, including 342 (wrongful confinement), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 506 (criminal intimidation). The police have also registered a case against Prameela, after Joice lodged a complaint alleging assault.
When Sini and Joice approached the court for anticipatory bail, the prosecution objected strongly. The court was also critical of the behaviour of the councillors involved.“Both the parties are raising allegations against each other forgetting their status as people’s representatives. They are duty-bound to protect the interest of the people and also uphold democratic values. Instead of upholding the duties of people’s representatives, they engaged in altercations and finally culminated in the commission of criminal activities,” Judge Honey M Varghese observed.
The court found that all three persons, including complainant Prameela, failed to discharge their duties. Considering the submission that there are chances of witnesses being influenced and as the investigation is in the initial stage, the court decided to deny the two councillors anticipatory bail.