The Judicial First Class Magistrate (III), Thiruvananthapuram, on Tuesday remanded Youth Congress (YC) State president Rahul Mamkootathil in judicial custody till January 22 after the police arrested and produced him in court as the prime instigator of the violence that unfolded in front of the Secretariat here during an Opposition protest march on December 20.
Earlier, a police team from Thiruvananthapuram arrested Mr. Mamkootathil from his residence at Nellimukal, near Adoor.
The court’s decision to deny Mr. Mamkootathil bail seemed to portend some legal jeopardy for Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan and Congress legislators Shafi Parambil and M. Vincent who the police had arraigned as accused in the rioting case.
Mr. Mamkootathil’s counsel complained that the police had not notified his client of his impending arrest and had detained him while he was convalescing at home from a head injury “inflicted” by the riot police. The prosecution countered that an officer sustained an arm fracture during the riot, forcing the police to book the demonstrators on the charge of wilfully hurting a government official to deter the person from discharging his duty under Section 333 of the Indian Penal Code.
It argued that the law carried a punishment of up to 10 years of imprisonment. Hence, the severe provision precluded the police from notifying Mr. Mamkootathil about his arrest. Moreover, the threat of public violence had constrained the police to arrest Mr. Mamkootathil discreetly and at dawn.
The charges against Mr. Mamkootathil included grievously hurting an officer, preventing uniformed officers from discharging their law and order duties, destroying public property, rioting and unlawful assembly.
The police have so far arrested 32 YC workers and remanded them in judicial custody on the same count and comparable charges are pending against the three senior Congress leaders.
Asked whether the law would take the same in the case of three Congress MLAs, public prosecutor Manu Kallampalli told reporters that law enforcement had not notified the court about any future arrests. Mr. Kallampalli pointed out that Mr. Satheesan was not at the spot when the violence unfolded. “The Opposition leader led the march but left before the violence started. In stark contrast, Mr. Mamkootathil was at the vanguard of the violence and had done little to dissuade the protesters,” he said.
The prosecution submitted as evidence police video footage purportedly showing Youth Congress workers attacking law enforcers, smashing the windscreen of a police vehicle, destroying police shields and forcibly freeing a person detained in a law enforcement vehicle. It also produced medical certificates detailing the injuries sustained by officers and an inventory of police equipment allegedly destroyed by the demonstrators.
Mr. Mamkootathil’s counsel submitted medical records about the YC leader’s hospital admission and treatment and termed the police charges “inflated and trumped up”.
The court denied Mr. Mamkootathil bail after it perused a second medical report on the YC leader’s health. The court found him fit enough to be incarcerated as a remand prisoner.
