Kerala Women’s Commission Chairperson KC Rosakkutty told media that the row over the arrest of Dalit sisters in Thalassery is much beyond a political issue and that it should be considered seriously.

She said that it was hard to believe that the sisters would attack the CPI(M) office as was alleged.

The chairperson was visiting Anjana, one of the Dalit sisters who tried to commit suicide, after the controversy. Rosakkutty said that the Commission would enquire if there was any fault on the part of the police.

“We will seek a report from police chief. It is unfortunate that an unmarried woman was jailed. They were living with insecurities in their own place,” she told media.

Anjana and her sister Akhila, daughters of a Dalit congress leader, were remanded in judicial custody for allegedly assaulting CPI(M) workers at a party office in Thalassery. This has snowballed into a major controversy as the sisters claimed that it was partymen who attacked them. Akhila’s one-and-half-year-old baby also accompanied her to jail.

Anjana attempted suicide following a TV discussion, where Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leaders labelled the dalit women as “quotation gangs and public nuisance”.

Meanwhile Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan refused to comment on the issue while saying, “Nobody has sent the kid to prison, it was taken by its mother. During Muthanga struggle, how many tribal women took their kids to jail.”