Her two kids next to her, a crestfallen Viji sat outside the Kerala Secretariat on Monday. As political bigwigs and the media kept entering and exiting the venue where she was fasting, Viji told everyone the same thing, that she had been let down by the Kerala government.
Viji’s husband, 32-year-old Sanal Kumar, who was an electrician from Kodungavilla area in Neyyattinkara died on the night of November 5. He was hit by an approaching car during an altercation with Deputy Superintendent of Police B Harikumar. The policeman wanted Sanal to remove his car that was parked on the road, and the latter’s delay by a few minutes, angered the arrogant policeman who then went on to assault him.
Following Sanal’s death and the media attention on it, the DySP went absconding but on November 13, he was found hanging in his house in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Chief Minister and many others from the government promised Viji and her family compensation, but none came. This has forced the grieving woman to start an indefinite strike in front of the Kerala secretariat, with her parents and her two children.
“The government has turned a blind eye to us. We have been forced to start the protest. We hope the government pays us compensation,” Viji told TNM.
Following Sanal Kumar’s death, an action council was formed in his name. The council consisted of local politicians, friends and family of Sanal Kumar. The aim of the council was to ensure that justice is delivered to Sanal Kumar’s family and to ensure the DySP was arrested.
The action council had also demanded that the State Government should give Viji a job as she is the sole breadwinner of the family after Sanal's death.
But the government has not made any announcement regarding her job or made a move to give compensation. Viji had earlier told TNM that even the immediate compensation of Rs 10,00 had not been given to her.