DYFI activists booked for taking out march violating COVID-19 protocol

Television visuals showed that while a protest meeting was being held in front of the office, some of the activists had climbed the building walls and rolled down the flag.

Palakkad: A case was registered against a group of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists for taking out a protest march to the municipal corporation here and allegedly barging into the office building violating COVID-19 protocol.

The DYFI workers, on Friday, had also unfurled the national flag atop the Municipality building as a reply to the BJP activists who had hoisted a giant banner with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ written on it after the saffron party won in the recently held local body polls here.

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Television visuals showed that while a protest meeting was being held in front of the office, some of the activists had climbed the building walls and rolled down the flag.

Based on the complaint of the Municipal Secretary, Palakkad Town South police registered a case for unlawful assembly under IPC section 143 and for the violation of COVID protocols.

“The case was registered under IPC 143 and sections of COVID protocol violation. The investigation is on and we can not say right now how many persons were involved in the incident,” a police official told PTI.

No case was registered against the Left activists in connection with the raising of the national flag, the official added.

However, the BJP has alleged that the DYFI activists had hung the tricolour upside down which was amounted to disrespect to the national flag and so a punishable offence.

During the local body election victory celebrations in front of the municipal corporation on Wednesday evening, a few BJP workers were seen in a purported video unfurling a giant banner with ‘Jai Sri Ram’ written in Malayalam and an image of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj from top of the building.

They had also unfurled another banner with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah, the police said.