M.B. Rajesh, Communist Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament, on Thursday alleged that he was assaulted by policemen during a protest here while demanding removal of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien for his alleged involvement in the Suryanelli rape case.
Mr. Rajesh and three others, including another CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP T.N. Seema, filed the complaint in the Parliament Street police station. Mr. Rajesh and his colleagues were marching towards Parliament House as part of the protest organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India, Students Federation of India, and the All India Democratic Women’s Association when they were stopped near Rail Bhavan. The protesters tried to move ahead but were picked up by the police.
‘‘We were taken into a police vehicle. I was pushed down and kicked inside the van. I was saved by protesters,’’ Mr. Rajesh said. He said four of them, including Ms. Seema, SFI president V. Sivadasan, and injured Jawaharlal Nehru University student Akhila, filed the complaint. The police assured them that they would look into the incident. Asked whether he would file a complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the CPI(M) MP said he would consult the party leadership before writing to her.
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Rejecting the allegations against him, Mr. Kurien had on Wednesday wrote to MPs saying three police inquiries and two judicial processes had cleared him in the 17-year-old Suryanelli rape case.