'Left govt not handling police force properly'

Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition Congress in Kerala on Monday lashed out at the Left government saying the police force is being mismanaged and cases are being filed against the opposition and the media for pointing out the mistakes of the ruling dispensation.

Speaking after the statewide inauguration of the police station march organised by the Congress party in the state, former Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Cheniithala attacked the government over its alleged failure to send a representative to the house of the five-yearold girl who was murdered after being raped in Aluva, Ernakulam.

Chennithala alleged that the state police, which is a well-functioning force with good officers, has "become the most inefficient force under the seven-year-rule of (Chief Minister) Pinarayi Vijayan".

He also said that he "felt ashamed" as a former Home Minister that the Kerala police posted an apology on its social media handles over the Aluva incident. "Instead of apologising, they should arrest the criminals and bring them to justice," he said addressing the crowd.

He claimed that a minister went there in the night, only after complaints were raised over the absence of Kerala government representatives at the child's funeral. "Couldn't the chief minister have posted at least one Facebook post on the Aluva incident," Chennithala asked.

The Congress leader also pointed out the recent petition by a senior police official of the state, IG G Lakshman, in the High Court in which he claimed that an "extra-constitutional authority" in the Chief Minister's Office is mediating financial dealings in the state.

"False cases are filed against the opposition leaders who perform that duty. Today there is a move to jail them in Kerala. An IG in Kerala says that it is the Chief Minister's Office that is responsible for all kinds of anti-democratic and anti-social activities. The Home Department is in a shambles," Chennithala alleged.

He said there was a planned move by the police and the ruling dispensation to register cases against the media and journalists who point out the mistakes of the government. The Congress on Monday held protest marches to various police stations across the state.

State Health Minister Veena George and LDF convenor E P Jayarajan visited the family of the five-yearold girl who was raped and strangulated to death at Aluva near here, amid criticism from various quarters over the absence of Kerala government representatives at the child's funeral.

The Congress-led opposition UDF as well as the BJP have been attacking the Left government for the alleged lack of proper policing in the state following the incident.

On Friday, July 28, the five-year-old girl was abducted, brutally raped and killed allegedly by a migrant worker from Bihar who lived in the same building as the victim.

Her body was found dumped in a sack in a marshy area behind a local market in the nearby Aluva area here on Saturday.

The accused was arrested on Friday itself, but could not be interrogated as he was in an inebriated state, police had said. The Kerala police had posted an apology to the family of the victim on all its social media handles saying efforts to reunite the child with her parents proved unsuccessful. (PTI)