By Twocircles.net Staff Reporter
The Kerala Police have decided to withdraw charges under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 42 cases that were registered in the last five years. The police will submit a report before the court recommending withdrawal of UAPA in these cases.
The decision comes after a panel headed by state police chief Loknath Behera found charges would not stand against the accused in these cases. The panel reviewed a total of 162 cases, in which UAPA was slapped in last five years.
The CPIM led LDF Government had drawn strong criticism following UAPA slapped in 26 cases after it came into power in May 2016.
The panel studied 162 cases in which UAPA was imposed. It found that the probe officers had imposed UAPA without checking the facts. Police chief Lokath General told media persons that UAPA would be imposed in only cases dealing with terror links.“We have asked the investigators to remove the UAPA charges after reviewing these cases,” said Behera.
The panel and a team of legal experts also checked whether such cases were registered based on sufficient evidence.
The police chief has directed the district police chiefs to provide details whether arrests have been made in connection with the UAPA cases.
The panel was constituted in December 2016 to re-examine the UAPA cases after several persons raised the allegations of police misusing the law. The panel examined cases which were registered in various police stations from 2012.
The panel found that in half the cases, UAPA was slapped on the accused allegedly for helping Maoists or pasting posters exhorting to boycott elections.