Kerala police booked 15 members including two Congress MLAs Roji M John and Saneeshkumar Joseph for trying to allegedly release two students from a police lockup who were arrested for a college issue in Kalady. The two arrested include a Kerala Students Union worker and his friend. Kerala Students Union (KSU) is the student wing of Congress.
According to PTI, police said, John was a representative of Angamaly constituency and Saneeshkumar was a representative of Chalakkudy seat in the Assembly. The two representatives created a "terror atmosphere" at Kalady police station on Sunday.
Police said: "The KSU worker and another student were arrested for allegedly obstructing the duty of the police, who had reached Kalady Sree Sankara College in connection with a case."
They said 15 persons including John and Saneeshkumar were booked under nine sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including 143 (unlawful assembly), 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), as per the report.
John in a Facebook post said they intervened when the police were trying to "hunt down" the KSU workers at the behest of the ruling CPI(M).
John claimed that the KSU unit president and his friend, who weren't even named in an FIR, were taken into custody at midnight from their homes, handcuffed, and forced to sit on a police jeep's platform before being taken to the police station and placed in a cell without being given a glass of water.
No member of Congress can watch in silence while the police conduct such atrocities, the MLA remarked while condemning the police action against the KSU employees. On the other hand, the CPI(M) claimed that KSU worker and his friend were arrested in connection with a ragging case.