KOCHI: The government’s decision to withdraw non-criminal cases against people who participated in Sabarimala protests is an eyewash, Sabarimala Karma Samithi general convener S J R Kumar said here on Wednesday. He said around 18,000 cases have been booked against 68,000 devotees who participated in the protests and most of the charges are serious.
Most of the cases were registered for the road blockade on October 12, 2018, the protests at Sabarimala on October 17 to December 31, 2018, and the statewide hartal on January 3, 2019. The charges include unlawful assembly, rioting armed with deadly weapons, obstruction of traffic, voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons, stopping public servants from discharging duty and causing hurt, attempt to murder and damaging public property, he said.
"Thousands of devotees, including elderly women, have been charged with serious criminal offences. Around 1,200 cases have been filed against me and Hindu Aikya Vedi state president K P Sasikala. The devotees have incurred a loss of `5 crore due to attacks on houses, damage to vehicles, treatment of the injured and other expenses. Around `2.5 crore has been spent on court expenses and deposits for obtaining bail. Around 100 people were retrenched from temporary jobs," said Kumar.
BJP spokesperson Sandeep G Varier said that only 2,500 of the 18,000 cases will be withdrawn as per the cabinet decision as serious criminal charges have been slapped in most of the cases. Cases were slapped on 13 prominent Hindu leaders in almost all police stations in April 2019. However, the government's climbdown from its anti-devotee stand is welcome, he said. Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam state president Akeeramon Kalidasa Bhattathiripad demanded that all cases against devotees should be withdrawn.