The Dangers of Law Enforcement

This happens only in Kerala. A deputy commissioner of police and two other policemen have been suspended for ‘upholding’ a High Court directive imposing a ban on roadside meetings.

This happens only in Kerala. A deputy commissioner of police and two other policemen have been suspended for ‘upholding’ a High Court directive imposing a ban on roadside meetings. The sub inspector of Fort police station in Thiruvananthapuram, under the DCP’s direction, had filed a case against 10,000 women who celebrated Attukal Pongala, a Hindu festival, in public. The women devotees cooked rice—as prasadam—on the streets next to the Attukal temple in East Thiruvananthapuram. With so many women on the city’s roads, cooking, the road was virtually blocked that day.

Perhaps fearing public anger, the state government suspended the policemen who had filed the case and ordered a probe. Chief Minister Chandy has publicly stated that participation in Pongala would not come within the purview of the High Court’s ruling. The CPM, a party that counts atheism as a virtue, chose a novel way to protest against this decision. It went ahead and performed Pongala in front of the secretariat.

About The Author

Shahina KK