The Kerala police are mulling ousting Youth Congress worker Farzeen Majeed, who staged a protest against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inside an Indigo flight in June this year, from his native district by invoking the stringent KAAPA Act or the Goonda Act against the Congress worker.
According to reports, recently, the Kannur City Police Commissioner made the recommendation to the collector to banish the Congress worker for a year under the Kerala Anti-social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), popularly known as Goonda Act based on a police report alleging that Farzeen Majeed is a serial offender.
On June 13, 2022, activists of the Kerala Youth Congress namely Farzeen Majeed, Naveen Kumar, and Sunith Kumar, all Kannur residents, boarded a commercial flight flying Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Thiruvananthapuram from Kannur and waved black flags at him to protest against police harassment. Besides being charged with an attempt to murder then, the trio had also been put on a ‘no-fly list by Indigo.
Now, according to reports, the Kannur city police have recommended to the Kannur-range DIG to invoke the KAAPA provision prohibiting entry into the district against Youth Congress block president Farzin Majeed, citing that he was involved in over ten cases, four of which were serious in nature, including a murder attempt case registered in connection with a protest staged against the Chief Minister in a flight.
The Kerala Anti-social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA), which is generally invoked against hardened criminals, came into force in 2007. According to this act, people who cause a threat to the safety and peaceful existence of society can be imprisoned for up to a year. The offenders will be treated as rowdy or goons. An amendment was made to this Act in 2014. Currently, the power to impose KAAPA on criminals lies with the District Collector.
Police sources, however, stated that the decision to invoke KAAPA against the Youth Congress leader will be made only after hearing him.
The Congress on Friday criticised a Kerala police move to banish the Youth Congress worker from his native district. Reacting to the recommendation made by the state police, Congress legislator and Opposition leader V D Satheesan said, “Vijayan should bear in mind that this is not Russia under Stalin.”
He also questioned why the Goonda Act was not used against CPM student leaders who were involved in numerous serious cases, whereas the majority of cases against the Youth Congress leader involved Covid protocol violations.
Notably, after the incident, Farzeen Majeed, in an interview with Mathrubhumi News, accused the CPM government in the state of building a narrative to frame him as a notorious criminal and terrorist. He had said that the technique the Kerala police, at the behest of the Pinarayi Vijayan government, had adopted against him resembled how CPM framed slain Youth Congress leader SP Shuhaib.
“That is the approach of CPM in Kannur. They will frame the person as a criminal. After such labelling, they will ensure that person is no more,” he said.
The incident
On June 13, 2022, activists of the Kerala Youth Congress boarded a commercial flight flying Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to Thiruvananthapuram from Kannur, waving black flags in protest of alleged police harassment.
The chief minister was at Kannur on a three-day official tour. The Youth Congress workers were nabbed by the CM’s security team and LDF leader Jayarajan, who was accompanying Vijayan, and were handed over to the CISF. Jayarajan described the incident as worse than a “terrorist strike.” The incident was also criticized by CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who claimed that Youth Congress workers were plotting to attack the CM.
Meanwhile, Congress leader VD Satheesan described it as a “symbolic protest against police repression.” Farzeen Majid, head of the Youth Congress Mattanur block and one of the protestors, claimed that their objective was just to register a protest, and they were “brutally beaten” at the airport by the CM’s security team and Jayarajan, making them suffer serious injuries.
According to police, the Youth Congress activists started chanting slogans after the CM took his seat. Kannur range DIG Rahul Nair stated that they received an intelligence tip on this and warned the CISF, but the youth Congress workers managed to board the plane after displaying the medical history of a cancer patient receiving treatment at the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram.
According to sources, this incident also prompted attacks on certain Congress offices, including the State Headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, purportedly by members of the CPI(M) and its youth wing DYFI.
Following the incident, the members of the Kerala Youth Congress were arrested and charged with an attempt to murder. They later got bail from the Kerala High Court in the case.
Indigo puts the Kerala Youth Congress workers and LDF convener on ‘no-fly list’
A month after a scuffle broke out between Left Democratic Front (LDF) leader EP Jayarajan and Kerala Youth Congress workers in an IndiGo flight, the commercial carrier had put them on a ‘no-fly list’ for unruly behaviour on board a flight.
IndiGo had set up an internal committee to probe the matter as per Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) Section 3- AIR Transport Series M Part VI Issue II. On Saturday (July 16), the committee passed its final verdict in the case.
Youth Congress members Naveen Kumar RK and Farsin Majeed PP were found guilty of Level I offence and were banned from flying with IndiGo for a period of 2 weeks. Similarly, EP Jayarajan was found guilty of a Level II offence and was banned from flying with the airline for a period of 3 weeks, starting July 16 this year.
