Book Padil attackers under Goonda Act: CPI(M)

Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a protest in Mangalore on Thursday demanding the arrest of the remaining accused in the last month’s assault on party-goers at the Morning Mist Homestay in Padil and filing of cases under the Goonda Act against them.

The protest meeting was preceded by a rally from Town Hall to the Deputy Commissioner’s office. The protesters were taken into police custody when they started picketing vehicles passing through the State Bank circle.

B. Madhav, CPI(M) district secretary, said the assault on college students had been preceded by many other instances of moral policing and assault on people belonging to minority communities.

He cited instances in 2005 when the Bajrang Dal activists allegedly assaulted employees who were going out on tour followed by attacks on churches in September 2008 and the 2009 Amnesia pub attack.. In all these cases, he said, the culprits went unpunished.

“The State Government has not controlled the violence, and instead had supported moral policing and communalisation,” said Mr. Madhav.

He said strict action should be taken against the arrested, including punishing them under the Goonda Act. The protesters urged C. Manjula, Chairperson of the Karnataka State Women’s Commission, to withdraw her interim report on the incident.

“The Commission should apologise to the victims for passing moral judgments instead of giving them justice. No one has the right to dictate to women how they should lead their life,” he said.