Kannur (Kerala), March 13 Five KSU activists who were arrested in a case for allegedly attempting to murder Health Minister Veena George received a warm welcome after they were released from jail here on Friday.
KSU activists Athul M C, Akshay V V, Bithul Balan, Ahmed Yasin, and Mubas C H were released after the Thalassery Sessions Court granted them bail on Thursday in the case registered on charges, including attempting to murder the minister during a protest over alleged medical negligence incidents at the Kannur railway station on February 25.
KSU is the student organization of the Congress party.
A large number of Congress activists gathered in front of the Kannur Sub Jail when the arrested persons were released.
Kannur DCC president Martin George presented garlands and shawls to the KSU activists.
The activists, wearing black shirts in protest of their arrest, later participated in a march through Kannur city.
Speaking to reporters, Athul said there was no doubt that their arrest was a case of political vendetta by the CPI(M) government.
"Just as protests are suppressed at the national level by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Left government in Kerala is also trying to suppress dissent. In fact, they can no longer be called a Left government; they are increasingly behaving like an extreme right-wing regime," he said.
He alleged that the entire episode of their arrest was scripted by Kerala Assembly Speaker A N Shamseer, directed by the health minister's gunman, and acted out by George.
Shamseer, who was present at the Kannur railway station, was the first to report that George suffered injuries following the protest by KSU activists and called for medical assistance.
"The script has collapsed like a poorly made movie. Because we showed black flags and organised protests pointing out the failures of the ruling class, the government is now trying to persecute us," Athul said.
Though police had registered a case against the KSU activists for attempting to murder the minister using a weapon, Thalassery Sessions Court Judge K T Nisar Ahammed, while granting bail, observed that there was no evidence in this regard.
The court referred to the First Information Statement of the minister's gunman and the statements of three policemen who were present during the protest against the minister at the railway station.
The court also noted that even though the main allegation was that the minister suffered injuries in the incident, neither her statement was recorded nor the wound certificate was submitted before it.
Following the incident, George was admitted to a hospital, where she stayed for two days before being discharged.