Parish priest among suspects

A parish priest from Chembukadavu has been included as one of the main suspects in the attack on the Thamarassery Forest Range Office in a preliminary report by forest officials.

The priest, Saji Mangarayil, was suspected to have led violent agitators to the location, according to the report.

“The list also has references to a few other suspected persons related to the incident,” an official said. He also maintained that the report, submitted to the government, was not comprehensive and references made were based on first person accounts of eyewitnesses.

Report criticised

Meantime, the Thamarassery diocese criticised the report and claimed that the information furnished in it was false and meant to divert true inquiry in the case.

An official communication issued by the diocese here on Friday alleged that the charges against the priest were meant to weaken the people’s agitation against the implementation of the Kasturirangan report.

Fr. Abraham Kavilpurayidathil, chancellor and spokesperson of the diocese, claimed that Fr. Saji did not have any involvement in the incident. “As per the official communication we received, his name had not been included in any investigation report,” he said.

The diocese’s spokesperson affirmed that “anti-people reports” would not douse the spirit of ongoing agitations. “We will go ahead with the protest with the cooperation of people from all religious groups,” he said.

A member of the Kodenchery panchayat and a KSRTC employee hailing from Chembukadavu too had been named accused in the report.

Police sources said the inquiry in the case would be based on the Forest Department’s report and the earlier cases they had filed at the local police station at Thamarassery.

In the hartal violence, the Forest Department had suffered a loss of Rs.2.50 crore. Two office buildings - one at Thamarassery and another at Peruvannamoozhi - had come under attack. The office at Thamarassery suffered major loss as all files kept in a room were gutted. Three department jeeps and a few other vehicles seized in connection with various cases also were set afire in the violence.