Fifteen Congress leaders have been booked by the police for organising a road blockade in Kochi to protest against the fuel price hike which led to vandalising the car of Malayalam film actor Joju George on Monday.
The Maradu police have registered two separate cases – one in connection with the road blockade and the other for vandalising the actor's car.
The case against the 15 top leaders of the Congress have been registered for organising the protest which disrupted traffic. District Congress Committee president Muhammed Shiyas is the prime accused in the case.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) vice president V J Poulose and working president Kodikkunnil Suresh are the second and third accused respectively. Suresh, Mavelikkara MP, inaugurated the protest. The other accused are V P Sajeendran, Deepthy Mary Varghese, Tony Chammany, Joshy Pallan, N Venugopal, Xavier Thayankari, Dominic Presentation, Muhammedkutty Master, Vishnu, P Y Shajahan, and Malini Kurup. They have been charged with non-bailable offences.
They are charged for disrupting traffic, causing public nuisance, destruction of public property and violation of Covid protocols. The charges were framed under the recent Prevention of Damage to Private Property and Compensation Act. The case has been registered against 50 identifiable people who were at the protest venue also.
According to the FIR, the accused intercepted the actor's vehicle, manhandled him, and hurled abuses.
Kochi Commissioner Nagaraju Chakilam, IPS, on Tuesday said strict action will be taken against the accused irrespective of their power and stature.
“The accused in the case will be identified with the help of video clippings. There is proof that the glass of the car was smashed. The faces of those responsible are clearly seen in the clips. The actor's statement was collected after the incident,” the commissioner added.
No prima facie evidence against Joju
The police are yet to register a case based on the complaint filed by the Congress that the actor verbally abused activists of the Mahila Congress. The commissioner said prima facie there was no evidence against Joju.
No evidence was gathered against actor Joju George in the preliminary investigation conducted on the basis of the complaint registered by Congress activists, he said.
"We are still probing the case against Joju. We'll take necessary action if the allegations are credible," the police commissioner said.
A separate investigation is on into the incident in which a group of agitators vandalised Joju's car after he questioned the protesters for disrupting traffic for a long time.
Though the Congress leaders alleged that Joju was under the influence of alcohol, medical tests later disproved this charge.
Congress leaders allege that Joju was trying to undermine the protest for the common man. The issue escalated into a clash between the opposition party and the film fraternity after KPCC president K Sudhakaran called Joju a street goon. Filmmakers B Unnikrishnan and M
Padmakumar came out in support of the actor and condemned the PCC
chief's stance.
