A cultural gathering has been planned at Pottammal in Kozhikode on Thursday seeking dropping of charges against 93-year-old trade unionist ‘GROW’ Vasu, who has been in jail for the past few days following his arrest in a case related to a 2016 incident.
The case was booked against him for staging a protest in front of the mortuary of the medical college hospital in November 2016 against the alleged encounter killings of CPI (Maoist) activists Koppam Devarajan and Ajitha in Nilambur forest that year. After he was produced in court, though the judge informed Mr. Vasu that he could be released on personal bail, the former preferred to go to jail. His remand period will end on Friday.
Ambika, one of the organisers of the protest, said the case against Mr. Vasu could not be justified at all. It was an assault on people’s right to protest. On Thursday, cultural activists, artists, and singers are planning to gather at Pottammal, where Mr. Vasu has been running an umbrella shop, to hold various events. Writer Kalpetta Narayanan will inaugurate the meeting. Their demand is that when Mr. Vasu will be produced in court again on Friday, the government should express its willingness to drop the case. Earlier, writers such as Arundhati Roy and K.G. Sankarapillai had sought his release.
