Thiruvananthapuram

State council member of Popular Front of India (PFI), Yahiya Thangal was arrested by Kerala police on Sunday in a case related to a child's provocative sloganeering during the May 21 rally at Alappuzha titled 'Save the Republic'.

Thangal is also in the dock over a provocative speech on Saturday against the Kerala High Court judges. Police, however, said that the arrest is on the case related to the child's provocative sloganeering as he was one of the organisers of the event in Alappuzha. Regarding his comments against the judiciary, police said that it was for the High Court to take cognizance of the matter.

Anas, an active worker of the PFI in Erattupetta, Kottayam, who had carried the child on his shoulders while the boy was rendering the provocative slogan, were the first one to be arrested in the case. The Alappuzha district president of the PFI, Vandanam Navas and district secretary of the organisation, Mujeeb were also arrested.

The Child's father was arrested on Saturday from his residence at Palluruthy in Ernakulam district and he had told the police that the boy had learnt the sloganeering on his own as he had attended several events of the organisation. He also said that the boy had shouted such slogans earlier also and added that it was being made out into a major issue this time.

Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner of Police, V.G. Raveendranath told media persons that the child was subjected to two-hour counselling and would again undergo counselling sessions.

An FIR has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a person called P.K. Vijayakumar and police invoked various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Kerala Police Act. Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 505(1)(B)(act against public tranquillity), 505(1)(c), 505 (2) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and Section 120 of the Kerala Police Act are included in the FIR on the complaint filed by P.K. Vijayakumar.