By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was Friday accused by the Kerala opposition of shielding the perpetrators of a brutal assault on a school teacher, whose rectum was pierced with an iron rod three days ago.
The Left sought leave for an adjournment motion but Speaker G. Karthikeyan did not give the nod, prompting the entire opposition to shout slogans against Chandy.
The opposition alleges that R. Balakrishna Pillai, a jailed leader of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), and his minister son K.B. Ganesh Kumar are behind the attack.
Former minister M. Ratnakaran said the teacher, Krishna Kumar, was working in a school owned by Pillai. Kumar’s wife Geetha is the headmistress of the school and the couple for some time have had a running feud with Pillai.
“Geetha has gone on record to say that the only person who has a long standing rivalry with her husband is Pillai, who is the manager of the school,” said Ratnakaran.
The gruesome incident took place Tuesday night when Kumar was found abandoned near Kottarakara around 10.45 p.m., badly injured. Highway police first took him to a local hospital there and he was later moved to the Medical College Hospital here as his condition was serious.
But Chandy said the guilty would be brought to book.
“A police official is waiting outside his room here to get a statement from him on the incident and it has not been done so far because he is still unconscious. In the best interest of all, it would be fair not to make wild allegations,” Chandy said.
“An inspector general of police is overseeing the probe and those behind the crime would be certainly booked,” said Chandy.
Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said Chandy is protecting Pillai. He said Pillai, who has been jailed by the apex court in a corruption case, is having a good time in a luxury hospital.
“Pillai is having a field day in the hospital and everyone can see that he is speaking to people on the mobile phone. This is a blatant violation of the law because an accused who is supposed to be in jail cannot speak to others on the mobile phone. Only a Central Bureau of Investigation probe will bring out the truth,” said Achuthanandan.
Unhappy with Chandy’s response, the opposition started shouting slogans that forced the speaker to adjourn the house for the day.
The jail authorities have begun an inquiry into the use of a mobile phone by Pillai.