Kochi: Police arrested a Congress worker in connection with the vandalising of the car of actor Joju George during the Congress party's protest against the rising fuel prices at NH bypass in Kochi on Monday.
P G Joseph, 47, hailing from Thykoodam in Vyttila, was arrested for breaking the rear windshield of the actor's car. Joseph is the convener of the INTUC-affiliated union of autorickshaw drivers at Vyttila and the husband of Cochin Corporation councillor Sony Joseph.
The arrest was made after the city police examined the video footage of the incident in detail. The police found that one of the persons in the group who attacked Joju's car suffered injuries on his hand. Later, it was found by the police that Joseph took first aid from a private hospital for the bruise he suffered, which finally led to his arrest.
In another development, the police took a non-bailable case against 15 persons, including former Mayor Tony Chammany, on the basis of Joju's complaint. The offences registered include illegal blocking of the vehicle of the actor, wrongfully restraining his movement, applying force on his body, threatening and voluntarily causing hurt to him.
However, Chammany alleged that false cases were foisted on them by the police, adding that they would fight the case legally. He said that they had only reacted against the actor who tried to interrupt the protest meeting.
Nobody had touched the actor's body and they had no involvement in breaking the glass of the actor's car, Chammany added.
Case against Congress top leaders
The police registered a case against 15 leaders, including KPCC working president Kodikunnil Suresh MP, KPCC vice-president V J Paulose and DCC president Mohammed Shiyas. Cases were also registered against 50 Congress workers.
Meanwhile, the police did not register a case against Joju based on the petition filed by Mahila Congress workers that he abused them verbally and physically.
The Kochi City Police Commissioner C.H.Nagaraju said that a decision on registering a case would be taken only after a detailed fact-check.
Joju quits social media
Actor Joju George has deactivated his social media accounts after facing cyberbullying following his standoff with the Congress workers in Kochi on Monday. His Facebook and Instagram pages were found missing on Tuesday.
According to his social media managers, the pages have been withdrawn temporarily as per his decision to keep away from the social media for a while.
