Kerala observes shutdown to protest police high-handedness

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Thursday is observing a shutdown to protest the police high-handedness on the mother of an engineering student who is alleged to have committed suicide following harassment by the college authorities.

The dawn to dusk state-wide shutdown was called by the Congress-led United Democratic Front and the Bharatiya Janata Party after Mahija, the mother of Jishnu Prannoy, along with few of their friends and relatives moving towards the state police chief's office on Wednesday were stopped and dragged by the police.

The shutdown was instantly announced to protest the high-handed manner of the police on a hapless mother seeking justice for the death of her son, who according to Mahija was killed by the college authorities.

The shutdown saw only private vehicles plying on the road while markets, shops and establishments were closed.

The vehicles taking the staff members of the ISRO units in the state capital were taken in convoys.

Since taxis and three wheelers were also off the road, passengers who arrived in the railways stations found themselves stranded.

"I have nothing against the state government and I am protesting against the way the police has been handling the case of my son and hence we marched to the police headquarters," said Mahija to the media from her hospital bed.

Even while the college chairman where Prannoy studied is currently out on bail, the mother is of the firm opinion that the police has not done a clean job in going ahead with the case in the manner in which it should have been done.