Kozhikode: City Police Commissioner Uma Behera suspended Kozhikode town Sub-Inspector P.M. Vimodh for manhandling, abusing and locking up four mediapersons in the town police station on Saturday afternoon. The media personnel included Asianet bureau chief Binuraj and Media One reporter Jayesh Raghavan and crew when they went to bring the Outside Broadcasting (OB) van seized by the police from the district court premises in the morning after a conciliatory meeting with Ms Uma Behera over the issue.
The police headed by Mr Vimodh allegedly pulled in the reporters and also locked them up showering abuses. Soon, groups of media personnel and political leaders, including CPM district secretary P. Mohanan, A. Pradeepkumar MLA and DCC president K.C. Abu rushed to the spot. Ms Uma Behera, who had earlier ordered an inquiry removing Mr Vimod from the duties, gave an on-the-spot order suspending the sub-inspector after discussion with DGP Loknath Behera.
The media personnel in the morning had staged a protest in front of the town police station to release the colleagues who were taken into custody reportedly as per the verbal orders of the judge. Later, the court authorities said that there was no direction from the court to arrest or remove the media personnel from the court premises.
However, the Calicut Bar Association in a resolution passed in the evening extended support to the police official, saying that his timely intervention had helped in avoiding a law and order situation on the court premises. Bar Association president K.M. Kadiri told Deccan Chronicle that the sub-inspector had asked the channel team to remove the OB van from the court premises which they refused to do leading to the series of issues.
The incidents started around 11 a.m. when the reporters went to cover the hearing of the controversial ice cream parlour case at the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court. Claiming that he had the verbal orders of the district judge, sub-inspector Vimodh pushed out Asianet News bureau chief Binuraj and crew from the court premises and also took them into custody.
Eyewitnesses said that there was an altercation between the SI and the reporter over removing the OB van and the reporter said the van was parked at the same spot where he had been parking it whenever he came for reporting. An enraged SI with the help of policemen took him by force and pushed him into the police vehicle. Later, the police took the crew along with OB van to the town police station. When the other reporters rushed to the police station, Mr Vimodh remained adamant.
Later, senior police officials, including assistant police commissioner P.K. Raju, reached the spot and decided to let the bureau chief and crew go without charging any cases. The camera seized also was returned. Around 1.30 p.m., the media personnel met the Police Commissioner demanding action against the SI. Ms Behera ordered an inquiry and also promised to take action against the official in the evening after receiving the report. “It is improper to take action against an official without an inquiry,” she said. Believing the assurance, the media personnel dispersed and the Asianet team went back to take the OB van when the alleged fracas took place.
