Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI mouthpiece Janayugam has attacked the police for slapping sedition charges and anti-terror sections against human rights activists and writers in the state.
An editorial in the party organ on Wednesday said a section of police officers in the state was not acting in consonance with the policies of the LDF government. It said the slapping of UAPA against Nadeer had led to widespread protests in the state. “It is sad that such things are recurring. There have also been instances of custodial torture,” it said.
Nadeer was taken into custody when he went to fetch food for writer Kamal C. Chavara who was undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode medical college hospital. The police slapped sedition charges against him. Though the youth was let off later, the illegality involved in the case needs to be discussed, it said.
The editorial pointed out that slapping UAPA without any evidence was an illegal act on the part of the police. This should have not happened in a place like Kerala. The case against Kamal C. Chavara was registered for showing disrespect to the national anthem.
Even the Supreme Court directive on national anthem was being questioned now. “It is under these circumstances that the writer was taken into custody on the charges of disrespecting the national anthem. It is not right to slap sedition charges on the basis of Facebook posts and without proper investigations. Such actions are normally witnessed in administrations led by Sangh Parivar,” it said.
