Stephan Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod (EP)
Kasargod, Sep 15: The police personnel used water cannons again at a protest rally in front of the Manjeshwar Taluk office on Tuesday. The protesters called for the resignation of Manjeshwar MLA M C Qamaruddin who has been facing allegations of defrauding customers.
The activists who arrived from Uppala post office planned to march ahead of Manjeshwar taluk office by pushing the barricades. After the angry demonstrators tried to break the police barricades, the police used water cannons which injured more than five people. This also caused the BJP district president Srikanth and some other activists to lose their balance and fall on the ground.
BJP state vice president A P Abdulla Kutty inaugurated the protests and Manjeshwar mandala president Manikanta Rai presided over the same.
District president K Srikanth, BJP north zone vice president Kolaru Sathischandra Bhandary, advocate Sadananda Rai, Roopavani Bhat, Yuvamorcha district president Dhananjay Madhoor, A K Kayyar, Muraleedhar Yadav, B M Adarsh, Pushpa Ammekkala, Ashok Kumar Holla and others were present.
The protests were also carried out on Monday, September 14 demanding the resignation of MLA Qamaruddin whose fashion gold jewellery firm was accused of cheating the customers.
The claims disclosed up to now aggregate to Rs 74 crore and 68 sovereign gold. Five cases are lodged with Kasaragod police station, two in Hosdurg Magistrate Court and the highest number of 29 with Chandera police station. Accounts so far add up to Rs 150 crore swindled from 749 people.
The investigation of the alleged fraud case has been handed over to the crime branch.