Kozhikode: Congress and opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala, met with the families of two youths who were arrested for their alleged links with Maoists by Kerala police. The suspects Alan Suhaib and Taha Fasal were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Ramesh Chennithala enquired about the status of the case from the families of the youths. He was accompanied by Kozhikode MP, M. K. Raghavan.
Interestingly, both Alan and Taha are also activists of the ruling communist party.
Alan and Taha were disowned by the CPI(M) and are suspended from the party. There were protests from many left groups and activists against the arrests of the duo. Even the junior party in the Left Democratic Front, the CPI, came out against the arrests.
However, the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, maintained that the two had links with the dreaded Maoists. Recently, these far left radical group is gaining ground in the hilly regions of Kerala. Some of its members were killed in police shoot out and the security forces are on high alert against these left ultras.
Many political experts believe that the opposition leader is trying to gain some political mileage by visiting the families of those arrested for Maoists links. However, his visit seems to whitewash the crimes related to these far left ultras who are engaged in a war against India.