Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala said here on Sunday that the law and order situation in the State had touched its nadir. He demanded an inquiry into the death of a prisoner in Thiruvananthapuram sub-jail.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chennithala said the death of the undertrial prisoner was the 20th death either in policencustody or in jails in the State in the last five years. The mother and uncle of the deceased had lodged a complaint with the police, pointing out that the body bore torture marks and that they could not agree with the jail authorities' claim that it was a case of suicide.
Mr. Chennithala said as per a statement presented in the Assembly by Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan more than a year ago, there were 1,435 cases of murder; 1,447 cases of arson; 10,270 cases of missing persons; and 49 cases of attacks on police stations, all in the four years after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had assumed power.
The Rajendra Babu Commission's recommendations to prevent custodial deaths had been put on the backburner on the one hand, while on the other, the police had turned quite inefficient in curbing attacks on the common man by hired goons, known as ‘quotation gangs,' he said.
He said the United Democratic Front (UDF), when it comes to power, would conduct inquiries into all “corrupt” deals of the LDF, including the lottery scam.
Replying to a query on the helicopter controversy, Mr. Chennithala said he had not violated the model code of conduct in any manner. At the same time, he would have no qualms in using a helicopter if the situation demanded it.
The KPCC president said Congress president Sonia Gandhi would address an election meeting in Haripad, where he was contesting, on April 6, while AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi was expected to address election rallies in Ambalapuzha and Chengannur on April 10.
