KOCHI: The controversy over police lathicharge on Eldho Abraham, MLA, took a new turn on Saturday with the Kochi City Police claiming they did not attack the CPI leader and that the medical report showed that he did not sustain fracture on his arm. However, Eldho stood his ground saying that he suffered a hairline fracture on his left arm. He also alleged the police have the habit of creating fake reports.
“We did not hit the MLA. No party worker suffered major injuries during the protest,” K Lalji, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ernakulam, who led the police action, told Express. “The police gave statements on the same lines to the District Collector during a hearing on Friday,” he said.
Lalji, who is undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the scuffle with CPI workers during a protest march on July 23, said the police have told the Collector that a cursory glance of the medical report proves the MLA has not sustained any major injuries.
The police have requested a copy of the medical reports from Ernakulam General Hospital and a private hospital in the city, where he was treated.
A doctor in one of the hospitals where the MLA was treated told Express they could not find any fracture from the X-Ray. “He was admitted with pain and tenderness on the left elbow,” the doctor said on condition of anonymity.
But Eldho lambasted the police for giving “wrong” statements to District Collector S Suhas, who is preparing a report on the incident for submitting it to the state government on Monday. “Kerala police have the habit of creating fake reports. The statement that I did not sustain a fracture on the left arm during the lathicharge is a lie. My doctors told me I sustained a hairline injury on my left arm and I never said I endured a major fracture,” he said.
He also said measuring the depth of his injury at this stage was unnecessary. “The police have beaten me up with huge sticks. The pictures and videos of the incident prove it all,” he said adding he would soon take medical help as the fracture has caused swelling on the arm.
Action sought
Meanwhile, CPI Ernakulam District Committee demanded action against the police officers involved in the attack on the party workers. “Action must be taken against ACP K Lalji, Central sub-inspector Vipin Das and Njarakkal CI M K Murali, who allegedly took a biased stand in connection with a clash between AISF and SFI activists at Government Arts And Science College, Vypeen,” said CPI Ernakulam district secretary P Raju.