THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOZHIKODE: In a major embarrassment to the Congress, the Wayanad police have given a clean chit to the SFI in connection with the damaging of Mahatma Gandhi’s picture kept in Rahul Gandhi’s MP office in Kalpetta.
The police said the photograph that was hanging on the office wall was intact when SFI workers were evicted following their violent demonstration on June 24. This was pointed out by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the assembly on Monday while responding to a submission by CPM’s V Joy.
The CM quoted statements of the police photographer and reports on TV channels on the incident and said the photo was on the wall when SFI workers were removed. This was clear in the first set of photos taken by the police photographer at 4.04pm, he said. At 4.29pm, when another round of pictures were taken, the photo was found lying on the floor with its frame shattered. The CM said as per the witness’ statement, only Congress workers were present at the time when the photo was found damaged. TV channels too had shown the visuals before and after the photo was damaged.
Pinarayi said two cases have been registered in connection with the attack on the office and the probe is under way. CPM leaders had earlier claimed that Congress workers had destroyed the photo themselves and then put the blame on SFI activists. SFI workers had vandalised Rahul’s office on June 24 against his alleged ‘inaction’ on the Supreme Court verdict that mandated a one-kilometre eco-sensitive zone around protected forests.