Kerala: Four SFI activists remanded to judicial custody for ‘manhandling’ VC

Kochi, Aug 18 (IANS) The confrontation between the SFI and the authorities of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, has escalated, with four SFI activists on Monday being remanded to judicial custody following a complaint by Vice-Chancellor Dr Ciza Thomas alleging that she was manhandled and subjected to harassment by protesting students.

Those remanded are SFI state committee member Mebin Jose and university activists Basil, Yadu and Bineesh.

They were arrested in the case registered based on the Vice-Chancellor’s complaint.

The students had earlier secured bail in the first case registered in connection with the protest.

Thomas had complained to the Chief Minister and the Home Minister that a group of students physically assaulted and manhandled her and subjected her to mental harassment.

She alleged that the students obstructed her from discharging her official duties, damaged her official vehicle and attacked Syndicate members and members of her personal staff who were accompanying her.

The Vice-Chancellor had reached the university to attend a Syndicate meeting.

After the meeting, while she was returning, the protesting students allegedly stopped her near the lift and again near the university gate.

The latest action comes against the backdrop of a more confrontational political environment on university campuses since the change of government in Kerala.

For nearly a decade, the SFI remained largely quiet on campus issues during the tenure of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, barring its high-profile confrontation with then Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, when SFI activists repeatedly protested and allegedly waylaid him.

With the V.D. Satheesan government now in office, however, the SFI appears to have stepped up its confrontation with university authorities, with the Kalady episode emerging as a fresh flashpoint.

What particularly raised eyebrows is the apparent silence from sections traditionally seen as sympathetic to the Left, despite allegations that a woman Vice-Chancellor was heckled and prevented from moving freely on the university campus.

The absence of a stronger response to the alleged incident has prompted questions about whether political considerations are influencing the response to student protests.

The developments at Kalady come amid growing political tensions over the functioning of universities and the role of student organisations.

While the SFI maintains that its protests are aimed at protecting student interests, the administration has taken a serious view of the allegations of physical obstruction, assault and damage to official property.

With four activists now in judicial custody, the Kalady university confrontation is set to acquire a wider political dimension, putting the spotlight once again on the conduct of student protests and the protection of academic and administrative institutions from political confrontation.

In the case where four have now been remanded, the police have listed 18 students, including girls, in the list of accused and are expected to arrest them too.

–IANS

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