Fifty people booked for obstructing police during eviction drive in Dalit neighbourhood in Kerala

Police on Thursday said that a case has been registered against around 50 identifiable persons for obstructing it during an eviction drive carried out at a Dalit neighbourhood in Ernakulam district.

Residents of the neighbourhood in Pariyathukavu had stopped the police and the advocate commission it was assisting from carrying out the eviction drive, which stems from a property dispute where a private individual has successfully proved himself to be the owner of the land where the Dalit families have been residing for years.

The case has been registered under the relevant provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for the offence of preventing a public servant from discharging their duty, an officer of Thadiyittaparambu police station said.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) set up a protection committee in the area to ensure the safety of the families against any further police action.

Senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev, who visited the area, told reporters that the previous LDF government intended to give land rights, in accordance with the rules, to the people living here, after the survey proceedings ongoing at the site were over.

''However, the government changed before the survey proceedings could be completed, resulting in the use of force, which was condemnable. That is why a protection committee was constituted here.

''Earlier, we could protect them without any committee, but now the situation has changed and only a public protest can provide them safety,'' he claimed.

He urged the state government to take steps to complete the survey process and ensure that till then, no other action is taken in respect of the land in question.

The eviction drive at Pariyathukavu has been a contentious, ongoing dispute for years, and several attempts have been reportedly made in the past, but unsuccessfully.

On Wednesday, it turned violent as protestors threatened to commit suicide and blocked the police personnel deployed in large numbers with riot gear.

The police were then ordered to withdraw from the area by State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, as women and children were also present among the protestors.

The aggrieved Dalit families have appealed against their eviction, but the same have been dismissed by courts on every occasion.

They have claimed that the land they have been residing on was government land and not that of a private individual.

On the other hand, the Supreme Court upheld the private individual's ownership. The directions from the Kerala High Court to enforce the private individual's rights led to the eviction drive.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)