Social activist Dejo Kappen passes away

Kottayam: Social activist and political observer Dejo Kappen has passed away. He was 67. He died at a private hospital in Pala, where he had been undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in a car accident. The accident occurred last October in Thiruvananthapuram when the car lost control while being driven down from the upper parking level of his apartment building. His wife, Dr Mini Kappen, was also injured.

Dejo Kappen was instrumental in securing court interventions on several public issues. Petitions filed by him led to judicial action on matters such as electricity tariff hikes, threats posed by the Brahmapuram waste plant, waste management in Kochi city, roadside advertisement boards and public meetings, and railway fare hikes. In 1988, he founded the Centre for Consumer Education with the aim of protecting consumer and farmer rights, and he led legal battles in courts as a trustee of the centre.

Born to the late K C Joseph and Mary Joseph of the Kappil family in Edamattom, Pala, he entered politics during his school years through the Kerala Students Congress (KSC). He was elected college union chairman at St Thomas College, Pala, and also served as a university union councillor from three colleges he attended. In 1982, he became the general secretary of the Kerala University Union, and later served as a member of the Academic Council and Senate of Kerala University.

He held several positions including KSC state president (1983), Youth Front state general secretary (1985), Youth Front state president (1989), Kerala Congress (B) state secretary (1991), chairman of the Kerala Land Development Corporation, and secretary of the Kerala Volleyball Association.