Kozhikode: Avishna could not but help cry out aloud as she saw the visuals of her dear mother being dragged away by the police from near the police headquarters in the state capital. Avishna's mother, Mahija, had travelled all the way from Kozhikode to Thiruvananthapuram to meet top police officers and submit a plea seeking a proper inquiry into the death of her son Jishnu Pranoy.
Pranoy, 18, was an engineering student at the Nehru Engineering College in Pampady near Thrissur, some 240 km from the capital. He was found dead in the hostel three months ago. Police had written it off as suicide, but evidence suggested otherwise.
On Wednesday, Mahija and Pranoy's father, Ashokan, besides a number of close relatives, were assaulted by the police as they sought to meet the director-general of police (DGP). They later launch an indefinite hunger strike. Avishna was staying back home in Valayam, Kozhikode with her mother's sister Chandri.
Avishna talked to her father several times. He tried to reassure Avishna and told her that Mahija was not in any danger. But, she has not been able to find any solace.
Pranoy's tragic death occurred at a time when Avishna was preparing for her crucial school final examination. Ever since, several political leaders had visited the house, every time bringing back memories of Jishnu. It was Avishna who was Mahija's support all the while, sitting beside her, consoling her and wiping away her tears.
At her home in Valayam on Wednesday, Avishna, her eyes reddened with tears, was lamenting that she was not beside her mother at the hospital to offer her some comfort.
Valayam saw protests against the police action on Wednesday. The only political group that kept itself away was the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) to which the family incidentally was attached.
