Sreejith, a Kerala youth who has been on an indefinite agitation since the last 771 days, now sees a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. BJP Kerala State president Kummanam Rajasekharan has got an assurance from the Home Ministry that CBI would probe into the alleged the custodial death of his younger brother Sreejiv. Sreejith has been fighting a one-man army war. He has been staging indefinite satyagraha in front of the Secretariat.
Last week when Congress leader and LoP in the Kerala Legislative Assembly Ramesh Chennithala visited Sreejith he had to face embarrassing questions and unenviable situation; ultimately he had to retreat without making headway towards ending the youth’s satyagraha. A young friend of Sreejith reminded the LoP his reaction when he (friend) accompanied Sreejith to Chennithala’s office while he was the Home Minister in the Congress-led UDF regime led by Congress veteran Oommen Chandy. The boy said that Ramesh warned Sreejith about the grave presence of mosquitoes when the latter told about his intention to start satyagraha demanding CBI probe into his brother’s mysterious death while he was in the police custody. Sreejiv (27) died at a Thiruvananthapuram hospital on March 21, 2014, allegedly due to police torture.
Sreejith and his mother Ramani Prameela had met the State CM on January 15. After the meeting, Sreejith vowed to continue his protest until he received a copy of the formal order pertaining to CBI enquiry.
Kummanam visited Sreejith at his agitation pandal in front of the Secretariat and offered all sorts of help from his party. Around the same time, Kummanam got information from Delhi that CBI would enquire into the controversial death. He got the information after his emissary and BJYM national secretary Anoop Kaippalli met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi. Kummanam got the information from Dr Jithendra Singh, Personnel Grievances Minister in PMO. Copies of the relevant documents regarding the incident, including the findings of Justice K Narayana Kurup, the Kerala State Police Complaint Authority, had been submitted before the Union Minister. BJP National Executive Member P K Krishnadas had also met Rajnath Singh and discussed the matter.
Meanwhile, Thiruvananthapuram witnessed an unprecedented expression of solidarity towards Sreejith. Thousands of youths, both boys and girls, thronged the roads leading to the Secretariat. It was the result of an online campaign under the hashtag “justiceforsreejith.” Supporters said that they would be moving a petition in the High Court to press for a CBI probe. Composer Gopi Sundar composed a song ‘You are not alone’ which has gone viral. The composer said that he will donate the money generated from the song to Sreejith’s family. Actor Tovino Thomas and footballer C K Vineesh of ISL team Kerala Blasters have also come out with their support. The show of strength of the social media friends was a unique experience for the State as it was out without any sort of support from any political group. Certainly, it is an interesting point to be noted by the establishment.
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