KOTTAYAM: A CPM branch secretary and a CITU headload worker have been arrested for abusing, attacking and hurting a 51-year-old man who refused to pay 'nokkukooli' in Kumarakom near here.

The victim, V C Antony, has been admitted to the Medical College Hospital with a fractured finger. The incident happens close on the heels of the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan declaring the government decision to abolish 'nokkukooli' from May 1.

Kumarakom police arrested Sreekumar , branch secretary of the CPM in Kumarakom, and Raju, a headload worker, on Sunday evening. They have been under IPC sections 325, 323, 294B and 34 for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, using obscene language in public and for indulging in criminal act.

Antony and his 15-year-old son were stopped by the duo from unloading cement sacks from a truck on Saturday evening. Antony is the ambulance driver of Kumarakom panchayat and works for daily wages. The cement was brought for the purpose of constructing his house. The concrete work of the roof of the house was slated for Monday.

"The two persons came and demanded money as nokkukooli," said Antony. "I did not listen to them and continued unloading the sacks along with my son. But they pulled me down from the truck. I got my palm injured in the fall," said Antony. "They were also hurling abuses throughout," he said. Police were alerted and even after their arrival the two remained there.

Meanwhile, the duo sought treatment at the government hospital in Kumarakom, alleging that they were injured after Antony attacked them.

