The Pothencode police officials in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala have registered a case against Kerala Students Union (KSU) chairman KM Abhijith for allegedly giving false identity while undergoing a COVID-19 test, for which his results returned positive on Wednesday. He had allegedly given his name as ‘KM Abhi’ instead of his official name, as well as the wrong address.
The issue came to light recently after Pothencode Panchayat President K Venugopalan Nair registered a complaint with the police, stating that Abhijith has knowingly given false identity. In his complaint, the panchayat president had reportedly stated that the address provided by Abhijith, too, was false.
Abhijith is one of the leader of KSU (a student wing of the Congress) who had led the protests — spanning across several days — in front of the Kerala Secretariat, demanding resignation of Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel. The protests, which turned violent multiple times, were held in violation of the COVID-19 regulations of maintaining physical distance, wearing masks and the ceiling on the number of people who can gather in a public place.
Officials of Pothencode police confirmed to TNM that Abhijith has been booked under section 419 (punishment for cheating by personation) and various other sections of the Kerala Epidemic Diseases Ordinance, 2020.
Reacting to the controversy, Abhijith said that Pothencode Panchayat President’s complaint was politically motivated.
“I had gone to test for coronavirus with KSU leader Bahul. Since he is from the region, he was the one who gave both of our details to the officials. When the controversy surfaced, I had contacted him and enquired about this. He had said that it might be a clerical mistake of officials. Pothencode panchayat president might have other political motivations,” Abhijith said on Facebook.
He also said that health officials had contacted him and under their instruction, he is under home care at his house.
Meanwhile, Minister Kadakampally Surendran, who has the charge of COVID-19 prevention in Thiruvananthapuram district, told the media that it will be inquired if Abhijith received any help from health officials.
Earlier, two leaders of the Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha, who had participated in the protests that violated COVID-19 regulations, were diagnosed with the disease.
Watch Minister Kadakampally's reaction: