Less than 48 hours after a CPI (M) branch secretary from Perambra, Kozhikode, was booked for attacking a neighbouring mosque with stones, the Perambra first class magistrate court granted him bail.

The accused, identified as Akhildas, Branch Secretary of the party at Manikoth, was booked along with 20 others from the DYFI (youth wing of CPI (M)) by the local police on Saturday night. They were charged under section 153 A for promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, caste, gender etc.

Despite being a non-bailable offence, Akhildas was granted bail by the magistrate court as the police reportedly refused to oppose the bail plea.

Lashing out at the government for protecting the accused, BJP leader K Surendran said, ”In a case which has serious charges such as perpetrating communal discord and criminal conspiracy, bail is usually given only after two remand terms.” Surendran accused Industries and Sports Minister EP Jayarajan of intimidating the police into dropping any objections against Akhildas’s bail plea.

The CPI (M) branch secretary along with 20 others from the Democratic Youth Federation of India were arrested in connection with a stone pelting case against the a mosque in Perambra, Kozhikode. The group was arrested on Saturday night. When TNM got in touch with the Perambra police, they denied that there was any targeted attack against the mosque.

“There was a clash between the UDF and LDF in Perambra and stones were being pelted at each other’s branch offices when the mosque came under attack. There was no targeted attack against the mosque. All buildings near the incident were affected. We have registered a case with regards to the attack,” Perambra SI told TNM.

However, contradicting the police version, the FIR filed by the police following a complaint by the President of Mahal Committee under which the mosque functions stated, “The accused, with the intention of perpetrating a communal hostility due to a clash between two political parties, have ganged up and pelted stones at the Juma Masjid mosque on the Perambra Kuttiyadi road and caused damages to the property.”