In an unprecedented step, the police on Thursday took a man into custody from the Kottayam Press Club where he held a press conference regarding a drug and prostitution network functioning at Vaikom.
The man, M.K. Siby, claimed that he was part of this network and was ready to turn approver. He said he was planning to surrender at the Vaikom Judicial First Class Magistrate Court to bring out the truth. According to him, many people had committed suicide on account of the racket, the latest one being a 20-year-old who was related to him.
While he was talking about the racket, Mr. Siby said he was witness to a murder that took place nearly two decades ago at Ukkadam, near Coimbatore.
Even as Mr. Siby completed his press conference, a team of policemen, some of them in uniform and some others in civilian dress, entered the media hall of the Press Club under the leadership of Kottayam (West) Circle Inspector Nirmal Bose and took the man into custody.
Journalists protested against this and Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) district leaders contacted District Police Chief V.M. Mohammed Rafique. They were informed that the police were acting on a tip-off.
The KUWJ district unit protested against the police move and pointed out that such actions should not come in the way of media freedom.
