THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The alleged suicide of Aryanad panchayat member S Sreeja triggered dramatic scenes in the state capital on Tuesday, as Congress workers staged a protest demanding action against CPM members allegedly responsible for her harassment.
After completing formalities at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Congress workers took Sreeja’s body in a funeral procession to Aryanad junction around 4pm, where it was placed for the public to pay homage. Congress workers insisted that the body would be taken for last rites only after receiving a copy of the FIR from police.
With delays in handing over the document, workers shifted the body in an ambulance to the Aryanad Police Station, where a protest was staged with the body kept inside the vehicle from around 7pm. The agitation, joined by Congress leader K S Sabarinadhan, continued until 7.45pm when police handed over a copy of the FIR to the Congress leadership.
“We informed workers that the FIR has been registered and the investigation started. The protest was then called off, and the body was taken to her residence in Kokkottela, Aryanad, for last rites,” said Sreerag S V, Congress member from Kokkottela ward.
Meanwhile, an online meeting of KPCC office-bearers and DCC presidents, chaired by KPCC president Sunny Joseph, expressed deep regret over Sreeja’s death and demanded justice for the deceased.