Pic of CM Oommen Chandy with goon goes viral

Kozhikode: A controversy has broken out in the Congress over a photograph showing a quotation gang member here, Ayurmana Navas, sitting along with  Chief Minister  Oommen Chandy and DCC president K.C. Abu. In another picture, he  is seen posing with DCC general secretary T. Siddique.

The pictures of   Navaz and his brother Nizar,  who are said to be Youth Congress members,  have been circulating on the  social media.   They were involved in a violent incident  in the city on Thursday and now the police team investigating the case  is confused about proceeding against the  gang members.

The ‘I’ faction in the Congress  has come out seeking action against the goons.  Sources said it was the ‘I’ group members who leaked out the pictures.

Congress leaders have demanded expulsion of Navaz from the party and also  an explanation from the DCC as to how he had such a free access to the  CM. “I have not come across these photographs and am not aware of the issue. If it is a local issue, then the local committee heads and parliamentary committee leaders will take action and only if they fail, I can check the case,” Mr Dean Kuriakose, president, Youth Congress, told mediapersons here.

According to police records, the Ayurmana brothers,  have been leading the quotation business in Kozhikode. “Most of the city’s quotation cases are handled by these brothers. One of their cousins was also with the gang but  he has now  come out of the gang after being ditched by the brothers. Police officials who are well aware of their activities hesitated to take action against them because of their political connection,” a person close to the circle told DC.

However, the city police commissioner has asked his officers to pull out all the old case records of the accused and they have been booked  under the Goonda Act. Nizar, Navas and their seven-member gang had waylaid another group to catch a girl who had eloped, and attacked them in broad daylight at Mavoor Road-Bank Road junction on Thursday. The girl’s brother had given a quotation to Nizar and Navas to catch  the girl and  stop  her from marrying her lover.