The Hindu : Govt. to probe Malayalappuzha incident

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

Govt. to probe Malayalappuzha incident
By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 15. The Government will probe the circumstances that led to the police action at the Malayalappuzha Devi Temple in Pathanamthitta on Friday and initiate action if any person is found to have been responsible for it, the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, told the Assembly today.

Opposing the move for an adjournment motion on the subject, the Chief Minister termed the incident regrettable and called upon all sections concerned to cooperate with the Government to restore peace in the area. He would also try to resolve the dispute between the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the Temple Protection Committee regarding conduct of a `sathakoti archana' at the temple, Mr. Antony said.

The Chief Minister said the actual confrontation in the locality was not between the police and the devotees, but between the latter and the TDB authorities. The devotees had locked up the TDB Commissioner, C. P. Nair, and other officials inside the `sadyalayam' of the temple following the dispute. Violence erupted when the police tried to release the TDB authorities.

The police first burst teargas shells, followed it up with lathicharge and when that too failed to disperse the crowd, fired three rounds in the air. As many as 31 police personnel, including the local CI, were injured and there was a lot of damage to property.

Seeking leave for the adjournment motion, Raju Abraham (CPI-M) described the situation in the locality as tense and said the police action against the local people was brutal. He said the police had chased the people into their homes and even broke into several homes. Some 60 houses, 30 shops and 50 houses were damaged in the police action. The police also misbehaved with several women. The incident seemed the result of a conspiracy and called for a comprehensive inquiry, he said.

The local MLA, Adoor Prakash, said the incident was the outcome of provocation from the TDB Commissioner. He alleged that the police action came after the people had left the area and demanded a detailed inquiry into the incident.

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Govt. to probe Malayalappuzha incident