Congress activist loses mother while he was jailed for protesting against Kerala CM

Kozhikode: Three years ago, Lineesh Kumar, from Kunnathara near Koyilandy, left his job in the Gulf to take care of his ailing mother in Kerala.

On November 29, 2023, when Lineesh, who is the General Secretary of the Congress party's Ulliyeri Mandalam Committee, took part in a protest before the Atholi Police Station, he couldn't have imagined the loss he would endure – the death of his beloved mother.

The protest was part of the Congress party's statewide agitation against the attacks on KSU activists who gheraoed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan with black flags during the Nava Kerala Sadas. The protest in front of the Atholi Police Station turned ugly and a Sub Inspector sustained a minor injury.

The police booked 10 Congress activists and 100 unidentified protesters, including Lineesh. The 10 main protesters are still at large. Meanwhile, on December 28, Lineesh and Youth Congress' Atholi Mandalam President M P Tariq were arrested.

When Lineesh was taken into custody, he was home to pack dinner for his mother, who was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital. The next day, she passed away from cardiac arrest while Lineesh was locked up. “Tariq and Lineesh only participated in the protest. For this, they had to suffer so much. Lineesh was so close to his mother; he even left his job in the Gulf to look after her,” said KSU block secretary K Bipil.

Lineesh was granted an interim bail to pay last respects to his mother. According to Congress activists, he was taken back to the Koyilandy Sub Jail two days later. Lineesh began a hunger strike demanding bail to attend rituals post-cremation. The authorities have now granted him a two-day bail.

Non-bailable charges included
The Atholi Police told Onmanorama that those booked have been charged under sections 143, 145 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 283 (obstruction in public way), 332, 333 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 363 read with 149 of the IPC. According to reports, IPC 333 which deals with 'voluntarily causing grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty' is a non-bailable charge.

The Congress launched a protest on Wednesday alleging the police were responsible for the death of Lineesh's mother. District Congress Committee president K K Praveen Kumar inaugurated the protest at Athani near Atholi.

Chandy Oommen MLA participated in the protest. He visited Lineesh at Koyilandy Sub Jail and also the bereaved family. Oommen said it was anti-democratic to book activists who participated in a democratic protest.