CPI leaders from Kerala met Maoists Shyna and Anoop Mathew George at Coimbatore central prison on Friday and requested the Union government to withdraw the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) slapped against them. They also demanded that prison authorities should treat the Maoist leaders as political prisoners.
CPI Kerala state committee secretary Kanam Rajendran and a few local party leaders visited the prison and sought permission from authorities to meet the Maoist (CPI-Maoist) leader Roopesh, his wife Shyana and Anoop. They were accompanied by Valparai MLA M Arumugam.
However, Roopesh was not in the prison as a team of police from Wayanad in Kerala had taken his custody a week ago. So, the CPI leaders decided to meet Shyna and Anoop Mathew George. Prison authorities said Roopesh would be back in the jail in two days.
After visiting the jail, Kanam Rajendran told reporters that the state government did not give political prisoner status to the arrested Maoists. Shyana, he said, had repeatedly asked prison authorities to provide her with a chair and table as she was suffering from spinal cord problems. "But the authorities told her that her demands could be met only after a court direction."
"Roopesh and Shyna are charged with forging identity documents to obtain SIM cards in Tamil Nadu. But the case was registered against them only recently and the couple can't be interminably held in detention by police. This is against the law," Kanam Rajendran said. The arrested Maoists, the CPI leader said, only voiced the problems of tribal settlement people. "The union government should withdraw the UAPA Act slapped against them," he added.
CPI Kerala state committee secretary Kanam Rajendran and a few local party leaders visited the prison and sought permission from authorities to meet the Maoist (CPI-Maoist) leader Roopesh, his wife Shyana and Anoop. They were accompanied by Valparai MLA M Arumugam.
However, Roopesh was not in the prison as a team of police from Wayanad in Kerala had taken his custody a week ago. So, the CPI leaders decided to meet Shyna and Anoop Mathew George. Prison authorities said Roopesh would be back in the jail in two days.
After visiting the jail, Kanam Rajendran told reporters that the state government did not give political prisoner status to the arrested Maoists. Shyana, he said, had repeatedly asked prison authorities to provide her with a chair and table as she was suffering from spinal cord problems. "But the authorities told her that her demands could be met only after a court direction."
"Roopesh and Shyna are charged with forging identity documents to obtain SIM cards in Tamil Nadu. But the case was registered against them only recently and the couple can't be interminably held in detention by police. This is against the law," Kanam Rajendran said. The arrested Maoists, the CPI leader said, only voiced the problems of tribal settlement people. "The union government should withdraw the UAPA Act slapped against them," he added.