KOCHI
A Dalit activist of Twenty20 party at Kizhakkambalam, who was allegedly attacked by four CPI(M) activists last weekend, turned critical at a private hospital in Aluva. According to reports, he was put on ventilator support on Tuesday.
Deepu C.K., a 33-year-old from a Dalit colony in ward 5, had undergone a surgery on Monday after blood clots were detected in the brain before his condition further deteriorated on Tuesday. He was assaulted near his home on Saturday night in the wake of a 15-minute light-off protest called by Twenty20 after the KSEB reportedly asked the panchayat to stop its “streetlight challenge” for replacing the old lights with new ones. It was probably for taking part in the protest by switching off lights in his home that he was beaten up, said Twebty20 sources. “Deepu had called me that night and he sounded so worried telling that he was being assaulted. I rushed there and found him cornered by CPI(M) activists. They threatened him against petitioning the police and also verbally assaulted me for confronting them,” said Nisha Aliyar, Twenty20 member of ward 5. Deepu didn’t go to hospital till be reportedly vomited blood on Sunday. The local hospital referred him to a better hospital with the service of a neurosurgeon. The Kunnathunadu police have registered a case against four persons invoking IPC 307 (attempt to murder) and provisions of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. While the charges are non-bailable, none of the accused has been arrested so far. “There was no complaint about the involvement of CPI(M) activists either on the day of the assault or the day after. Anyway, let the police probe it,” said P. V. Sreenijin, MLA. Ms. Aliyar alleged that Mr. Sreenijin forced the KSEB into stopping the project of replacing streetlights, which Twenty20 was implementing in four panchayats ruled by it. The MLA, however, denied the allegation saying that he wasn’t against the replacement of streetlights but collecting funds from the people for that in the name of streetlight challenge. “There is no law allowing such unauthorised fund collection,” Mr. Sreenijin said.
