KOCHI: Two Australian tourists of Jewish origin were interrogated by the police on Wednesday for allegedly tearing down pro-Palestine banners and boards at Fort Kochi.
The posters and boards, installed by the Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), the student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami Hindi, at Junkar Jetty, Kamalakkadavu, were torn down on Monday night. This was questioned by residents in the area, leading to an argument with the Australian tourists.
The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) is also conducting a probe about the tourists who are currently staying at a homestay in Fort Kochi.
Manoj KR, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mattancherry, said that the investigation is only in the preliminary stage. "We have not detained the tourists. They are staying at a home and we collected their statements in the case," he said.
The video recordings of the incident, which showed one of the women arguing with the people, were later circulated on social media platforms prompting police to launch a probe on Tuesday evening.
"On Tuesday, the FIR was registered against unknown tourists based on the complaint given by an SIO activist. We have confirmed the involvement of one Australian woman. From videos collected as evidence, it is revealed the second tourist was not involved in tearing posters and boards. We recorded the statements of both tourists. The case was charged under IPC section 153 (provoking riots) which is a bailable offence," an officer at Fort Kochi Police Station said.
The case was registered at Fort Kochi police station based on the complaint of SIO Fort Kochi area secretary Muhammed Azeem KS. "The banners and hoardings were installed by SIO in December last year during the Cochin Carnival event. They were not promoting any enmity between religions or sects. It was only regarding the sufferings of people in Palestine.
The banners had pictures of a child standing in front of a battle tank. The descriptions on the banners were-'Silence is Violence, Stand up for Humanity. The tourist also tore down two other banners at another place in Kamalakkadavu and Fort Kochi beach," Azeem said.
Azeem alleged that police are making a "full attempt to save both tourists" from the case. "It was on Tuesday, the residents told us about the incident. Soon we approached the police. We also identified the homestay where the tourists are staying and informed the police about it. The initial attempt of the cops was to settle the matter amicably. The police tried to picture the incident as a mistake that happened to tourists under the influence of liquor," Azeem alleged.
Later, SIO activists carried out protests in front of the Fort Kochi police station till late at night. The FIR of the case was registered at around 11.45 pm on Tuesday. "Even then they registered the case charging a bailable offence. We were expecting the police to register the case under the non-bailable offence of 153 A. We were told that both tourists were taken into custody and lodged at the police station. But now we came to know that both are still at their homestay," he said.
Meanwhile, FRRO has collected information about foreign nationals. FRRO has contacted the homestay where they stayed and collected their information. FRRO will assist the tourists in appointing a counsel to represent them in the case. Both tourists were here as part of their vacation and they will be in Kochi for a week. Police are also looking to complete the investigation by the time and file a report at the court. However, they will be allowed to travel abroad on the assurance that they will return to Kochi during the trial stage of the case.
