Communist Party of India (Marxist) councillor in the Koothattukulam municipality Kala Raju, who was allegedly abducted by her own party members on January 18, said on Wednesday that she would not like to remain in the party fold as she had lost faith in it.
“Where was this party when I was manhandled in the midst of hundreds on Saturday,” she asked after submitting her statement on the incident under Section 164 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita before the First Class Judicial Magistrate, Kolencherry.
Ms. Raju alleged that a local leader of the Students Federation of India had threatened her with a knife after she was forcibly taken to the CPI(M) office in Koothattukulam in the vehicle of Vijaya Sivan, chairperson of the Koothattukulam municipality. She also rejected allegations by the CPI(M) that the United Democratic Front (UDF) had won her trust by agreeing to clear her financial dues.
The police on Wednesday seized the official vehicle of the chairperson on the charge that it was used by CPI(M) activists to abduct Ms. Raju ahead of the no-confidence motion moved by the UDF against the chairperson on January 18. The vehicle was taken to the Koothattukulam police station.
In the complaint lodged by Ms. Raju’s son, it was alleged that the official vehicle of the chairperson was allegedly used to abduct his mother in violation of norms prescribed for the use of such vehicles.
The UDF camp had alleged that a local activist of the SFI was behind the wheel when she was allegedly abducted and taken to the CPI(M) office.
C.N. Mohanan, Ernakulam district secretary of the CPI(M), alleged that Ms. Raju was playing to the script framed by the UDF. She was naming local leaders of the party, who had no role in the incident, on the instructions of Congress and UDF leaders, he said.
Published – January 22, 2025 08:35 pm IST
