Governor Convoy Attack: Thiruvananthapuram Commissioner denies deliberate failure to control SFI protest
The Thiruvananthapuram Commissioner submitted a report to the DGP today on the SFI protest against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. The report denied deliberate failure of the police to control the SFI protest.
FollowThiruvananthapuram: The City Commissioner has denied the allegation that that were was a deliberate failure of the police to control the SFI protest against the Governor. Commissioner CH Nagaraju handed over the report on the protest and attack by the SFI against Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Thursday (Dec 14).Â
In the report, the Commissioner stated that extra security was provided in view of the protest and police were also deployed at places where the protesters were camping. However, the report stated that it was not expected that protesters hiding in the shops in Palayam region would come out in numbers. This led the protest to turn into attacking and hitting the Governor's convoy. When the pilot vehicle slowed down, two protesters jumped in front of the vehicle that led to hit the Governor's convoy.Â
The Commissioner said that security will be increased in the future after discussing with Raj Bhavan. However, no action was recommended against anyone in the case.
In a dramatic turn of events, CPM's Students Federation of India (SFI) on Monday night allegedly targeted the vehicle of Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, while he was en route to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to leave for New Delhi. When the governor got outside to question the people who had hit his automobile from both sides, they fled, shouting angrily as he stormed out of his car. The SFI activists had arrived at the spot to protest against the Governor with black flags over controversial appointments to the senates of universities.
The SFI activists demonstrated at first by hitting the Governor's vehicle at the camp. Then the protesters ran towards the vehicle and protested near the General Hospital and finally near the Petta Police Station. The police took 19 people into custody. They were charged by the police under the harsher IPC 124 section (assaults or wrongfully restrains, or attempts wrongfully to restrain, or overawes, using criminal force or the show of criminal force). The Governor gave the DGP and Chief Secretary directions, which led to the addition of this section. At first, the FIR contained rather weak sections even though they jumped on the governor's car. This was widely criticised.
