Key Points
Political controversy erupts over alleged abduction of CPI-M councillor
Raju claims brutal assault and threats from party members
Police arrest suspects amid mounting public pressure
Incident sparks debate on party accountability
The alleged abduction of Raju occurred when she publicly expressed dissatisfaction with her party and indicated her intent to vote against CPI-M directives in a municipal vote. Following this, she was reportedly assaulted and forcibly taken away while she was attempting to participate in the voting process. Later, she was hospitalized and on Tuesday, she was unable to give her statement before the magistrate due to the injuries suffered in the assault. This issue created a furore in the Assembly on Tuesday, and the Pinarayi Vijayan government informed that four arrests had been made. However, Raju stated on Wednesday that the police are yet to arrest the individuals who hurt her the most.
“I don’t have faith in the police as the arrested are not the ones who attacked me. I informed my party of all the issues beforehand, but they took no action. I was brutally attacked and my dress was torn. I was threatened in the party office, brandishing a knife. Now I fear for my life as they have threatened that my family will be eliminated,” Raju told the court while lying on a stretcher. She refuted the claims of her party leaders that she was in the custody of the Congress-led UDF. “I will go forward legally and I have not decided about my future course in politics. I want to ask what my party did to a 56-year-old widow who was brutally attacked. I cannot believe my party that I believed for the past quarter of a century,” added Raju, who was later taken back to the hospital where she had been admitted.
Meanwhile, with the case gathering momentum and local police coming under fire, on Wednesday, the police took into custody the official vehicle of the Municipal chairman of the municipality, as it was in this vehicle that Raju was ‘abducted’.