In a bizarre move, the Kerala police registered a suo motu case after a microphone interference during the speech of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The incident happened on Monday, July 24, during the memorial meeting organised by Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) for late leader Oommen Chandy. However, no one has been booked in the case.
Congress leader and former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy passed away at age 79 on July 18. The KPCC held a memorial meeting for him at the Ayyankali Hall in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. The CM took to the podium to address the gathering, and a few minutes into his speech, there was interference from the microphone. According to reports, a brief disturbance lasted for 16 seconds, following which CM Pinarayi continued his speech.
The Cantonment police registered a case under section 118(e) of the Kerala Police Act. Section 118 deals with “penalty for causing grave violation of public order or danger,” and 118(e) pertains to “knowingly does any act which causes danger to public or failure in public safety.” Speaking to AsianetNews, the mic operator Renjith, who provided all the sound equipment to the event, said that he has not seen such a case being registered in his 17 years of work. Stating that the howling sound is a common occurrence, he also said that he had provided the sound equipment to several public gatherings, including those attended by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.
“The mic was placed on the stage and the mic console was on the right side. When the CM started talking, cameramen and others, in an attempt to take photos, went to that side and disturbed the wires and the console, causing the howling sound. It was rectified immediately,” he said. He further added that he was called by the Cantonment police station on Monday morning and questioned about the incident. He was also asked to produce the microphone, cables, console and other equipment used in the event for the probe.