Dismissed, reinstated, then attacked me: Congress MP's charge against Kerala cop

Kozhikode (Kerala) | Congress MP Shafi Parambil here on Thursday alleged that a police officer, who had attacked him during the protest at Perambra here on October 10, was earlier dismissed from service and was reinstated.

Addressing a press conference, first after recovering from injuries, Parambil presented videos and photographs purportedly showing police assaulting him with a lathi. “We don't need any AI tool to identify the person who attacked me. Just replaying the video is sufficient,” he said.

He alleged that the officer who attacked him was Circle Inspector Abilash David, who currently works at Vadakara Control Room. “This officer was dismissed from service on January 19, 2023, for his links with the land mafia and lapses in a rape case. However, he was secretly reinstated and posted in Vadakara. The details of his reinstatement are not available anywhere,” Parambil claimed.

He accused the government of "misleading" the public and the state assembly by reinstating such officers. “These officers, who earlier worked with the SFI and CPI(M), now act as CPI(M) goondas within the police department,” he alleged.

The MP claimed that the CPI(M) was maintaining a “goonda cell” within the police force to attack protesters. “There is a political motive behind reinstating an officer who was dismissed from service. In the assembly, the government claims it has cleansed the police department,” he said.

Parambil also cited a reply he received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which stated that the police department did not maintain details of dismissed officers. “Two other officers were dismissed along with David, and their records are available — except his,” he said.

He alleged that there were more officers like David in the police force used by the CPI(M) for such brutal activities.

The MP further alleged that the explosion during the October 10 protest occurred due to the lapse of DySP Hariprasad.

He raised suspicions about Hariprasad's handling of tear gas despite a specialised unit trained in handling grenades and tear gas being present at Perambra.

“He was carrying a tear gas grenade in one hand and beating us with a lathi in the other. That's why, after the incident, the Kozhikode Rural SP directed officers to undergo training on handling tear gas on October 16,” Parambil said.

He also released a video showing Hariprasad at a hospital asking other policemen whether the MP had been hospitalised. “This shows they had a clear plan,” he alleged.

Parambil denied allegations that Congress workers had attacked the police. “It was a planned action against us. Not even a single Congress worker retaliated. Despite bleeding from my nose, I stayed back and pacified our workers,” he said.

CPI(M) had alleged that Congress workers led by Parambil attacked police with sticks and country bombs at Perambra.

Parambil criticised statements made by various CPI(M) leaders after the incident.

He alleged that such police actions were aimed at suppressing protests related to the Sabarimala gold missing case. Parambil said he was at Perambra on October 10 to attend a meeting organised in connection with the protest over the Sabarimala issue.

The Congress MP suffered nasal fractures during the police lathi-charge following a protest held against police action targeting party leaders and Kerala Students' Union (KSU) activists after violence erupted over the college union election at CKGM Government College, Perambra.