Binoy Viswom pays homage to Kuppu Devaraj, lambasts police

KOZHIKODE: The lone voice heard from the left bastions of Kerala against the police stopping sympathisers from paying respects to slain Maoists in Nilambur on Friday came from CPI national executive member and former minister Binoy Viswom who cautioned the LDF government that it cannot allow Sangh outfits to decide the police policy.   “Those fighting for an ideology should not be dealt with bullets and the police should not have behaved like the tools of the rightists during the left rule,” Mr Viswom said, addressing a gathering of Maoist activists, supporters and human rights activists at the Medical College Hospital premises after paying last respects to the body of Maoist leader Kuppu Devaraj.

Mr Viswom said that it was his party’s decision to pay respects to the Maoist leader. The politics of Maoists may be perverted but they should be respected as they are fighting for an ideology, Mr Viswom said. “They should not be handled this way,” he said. The body of Devaraj, central committee member and secretary of the western ghats Maoist special zone was released to his relatives on Friday afternoon. The relatives of Devaraj who came from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu including his mother Ammini and brother Sreedharan along with other relatives and human rights activists received the body.

The body was kept at the MCH mortuary after the relatives and human rights activists approached the court for re-postmortem of the bodies of Devaraj and Ajitha, 46, who were gunned down at Padukka forests on November 24. Earlier in the day, the police had denied permission to the human rights activists to put the body for public to pay respects at Muthalakkulam. Later the body was kept in front of the mortuary of Medical College Hospital. Later the body was buried at the public burial ground on Mavoor Road amid shouting of slogans. Meanwhile the Youva Morcha (YM) workers came out protesting against the police for allowing the activists to pay respects to the body.  YM workers also laid a siege to the road near the house of human rights activist Grow Vasu when there was an announcement that the body would be laid at the Varghese Memorial Book stall at Pottammal.