Congress MLA A.P. Abdullakutty was manhandled by a group of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) workers in a hotel here on Wednesday.
A group of DYFI workers barged into the hotel where Congress workers, including Mr. Abdullakutty and Sunny Joseph, MLA, turned up to attend a meeting of the District Congress Committee (DCC) leadership to discuss election preparedness of the party in the district.
The MLA was surrounded by DYFI workers when he was on his way to the dining hall of the hotel for lunch. Mr. Abdullakutty was caught unawares when the DYFI intercepted him, shouting slogans demanding his resignation following an FIR filed by the Cantonment police on a complaint of sexual molestation by solar scam case accused Saritha S. Nair.
In the melee, he fell down. Eyewitnesses said the MLA pleaded with the protestors to spare him from manhandling. Mr. Joseph, who was also in the hotel, rushed to the spot on hearing the sound of the fracas and freed him from the protesting DYFI workers.
BlockadeThe DYFI workers continued to blockade Mr. Abdullakutty. Soon the police arrived at the hotel and dispersed the protestors. Ten DYFI workers, including DYFI district leaders Biju Kandakkai and O.K. Vineesh, were taken into custody from the spot.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary P. Jayarajan told reporters outside the police station that Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala was protecting Mr. Abdullakutty. He said the MLA would be blockaded wherever he went, Mr. Jayarajan said.
