CPM leaders convey regret over manhandling of vicar
Thodupuzha (Matters India): CPM leaders, led by district secretariat member C.V. Varghese, on Wednesday arrived at a church here to express regret over an incident in which a vicar was roughed up by CPM workers in Kummamkallu.
The party leaders reached the Thodupuzha Town Church and expressed regret over the incident in the presence of Fr. Mathew Kunnampally, who was subjected to manhandling and Kothamangalam Diocese Vicar General George Oliyappuram.
Party leaders assured that proper action would be taken against those responsible for the incident. CPM Thodupuzha area secretary T.R. Soman and district committee member V.V. Mathai also reached the church.
Around 15 CPM activists had squared up against Fr. Mathew for questioning the protest by party workers, blocking a road in Kummamkallu.
The protest was staged against the pathetic condition of Veliyamattam-Thodupuzha road. Protesters were irked by the priest’s demand to allow vehicles to pass through the road. The party functionaries tried to turn away the vicar, telling him that there was another road and take that deviation.
A clash broke out when the vicar said that the court had banned stir by blocking the road and started capturing the video of the protest on his mobile phone. He was freed only after the intervention of some locals. Fr. Mathew, who was injured in the face and the neck, later sought medical treatment at the Thodupuzha Taluk hospital.
