india

Updated: Nov 06, 2019 19:12 IST

The district sessions court in Kozhikode on Wednesday refused bail to two CPI (M) student activists who were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on Friday while allegedly distributing Maoist pamphlets.

During the bail hearing, the prosecution said police have enough evidence against them and they need to be questioned in custody.

The arrest of the two men close on the heels of an encounter in Palakkad in which four Maoists were killed, had triggered outrage in the state with a section of the ruling Left Front and opposition condemning the police action.

The prosecution said police have seized brochures and pamphlets supporting Maoists from the two men and alleged that they were working for the ultra leftist organisation discreetly in urban areas for many years.

The parents of Alan Shuhaib (19) and Taha Fazal (24), journalism and law students, said they are innocent and charges were trumped up. Both are active workers of the CPI (M).

The police maintained that both attended Maoist meetings regularly and they were in possession of materials propagating the ideology of the banned outfit. “They maintained secret codes to read messages about their operations. After checking their mobiles police have fished out more details,” government pleader K N Jaykumar said.

Counsel for the accused M K Dinesh argued that neither of them has criminal record and police concocted evidences against them. Citing an earlier judgment of the Kerala High Court which said mere possession of pamphlets was no ground for invoking the UAPA, he pleaded for quashing the FIR. But the court rejected his contention. The parents of the two men said they will move the High Court soon.

The arrest of two had embarrassed the ruling CPI(M) as both were party branch committee members and actively involved in party activities. The encounter in which four Maoists were killed and the arrest of the two CPM activists have left many including leftist intellectuals angry. They also triggered a rift in ruling Left Democratic Front with the CPI in the forefront criticizing the police over both incidents.

Many writers and intellectuals have accused the CPI (M) of double standard for giving the police a free hand to slap UAPA after the party had opposed the law saying it was a draconian legislation that could be misused against members of minority communities