15 Congress leaders booked for NH blockade
KOCHI: 15 Congress leaders, including MP Kodikunnil Suresh, were booked within 24 hours after actor Joju George’s public outburst against the party’s road blockade at Vyttila during which the latter’s vehicle was also vandalised.
The police on Tuesday also arrested a Congress member, Joseph George, 47, who allegedly broke the rear windshield of the actor’s SUV during the standoff on NH66 bypass on Monday. He is the convener of Vyttila autorickshaw stand unit of INTUC. More persons will be arrested soon in the case, the police said.
The leaders booked for blocking the road and unlawful assembly flouting Covid protocol during the road blockade against the high fuel prices hike included Congress state vice-president V J Poulose. District party chief Mohammed Shiyas, Kodikunnil and Poulose are the first, second and third accused in the case in that order.
The others include V P Sajeendran, Deepthi Mary Vargheese, former Kochi mayor Tony Chammany
and Dominic Presentation. Chammany has also been booked for vandalising Joju’s SUV.
Police acting in a biased manner: Cong
Joseph suffered injuries while breaking the windshield. The police identified him from the visuals of the standoff. A detailed interrogation is under way at the Maradu station, said the police. Kochi City Police Commissioner C H Nagaraju said, “We have registered two cases in connection with the road blockade— one for blocking the traffic and the second for vandalising the vehicle.
The second case is a non-bailable offence and we have begun identifying the culprits. Stringent action will be initiated against them,” he added. Responding to the queries about the complaint filed against the actor by Mahila Congress members alleging that he had abused them, the commissioner said: “A case will be registered only after the preliminary inquiry.
The initial investigation revealed that the complaint is baseless. However, we will examine the visuals in detail,” he added. Meanwhile, Shiyas alleged the city police commissioner has initiated action in a biased manner. “A case has not been registered yet on the complaint of woman party workers alleging that actor Joju had verbally abused them. He came to the protest venue under the influence of some intoxicant.
This was reported by both the police officers and our members who were present there. We suspect that it was a planned attempt to sabotage the protest, which was a fight for the people against the skyrocketing fuel prices,” he added.
Fuel price: Oppn stages walkout in assembly
T’Puram: The Opposition UDF staged a walkout in the assembly on Tuesday to protest the huge hike in fuel prices and the state government’s unwillingness to reduce its share of taxes. The government on its part assured the House that it would continue to exert pressure on the Centre to get the taxes on fuel reduced.