Palakkad (Kerala) [India], January 27 : A court in Kerala's Palakkad on Tuesday sentenced Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil in connection with a 2022 case related to the blocking of a National Highway in protest against the alleged vandalism of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's MP office in Wayanad.
The order was issued by the Palakkad Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in a case registered by the Palakkad Kasaba Police on June 24, 2022. Parambil was sentenced to simple imprisonment till the rising of the court and fined Rs 1,000.
Parambil is the first accused in the case. The protest was held against the alleged vandalism of Rahul Gandhi's office by Students' Federation of India (SFI) workers, during which a National Highway was blocked.
In the same case, P Sarin, then a Youth Congress worker who has since joined the Left, was named the ninth accused. Sarin had earlier appeared before the court and was sentenced to a fine of Rs 500 and simple imprisonment till the rising of the court.
The court had issued an arrest warrant against Parambil last week after he repeatedly failed to appear for the proceedings.
Earlier, today a protest was held outside the Kerala Legislative Assembly during the 16th session of the 15th Assembly over the Sabarimala gold theft case.
The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, said his party has been demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister in connection with the Sabarimala gold theft case and insisted that there should be no pressure from the Chief Minister's Office in the SIT's investigation.
He added that two party members, CR Mahesh and Najeeb Kanthapuram, have started a satyagraha in front of the Assembly entrance while continuing to participate in the House proceedings.
"We have been protesting for the past several days, demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister in connection with the Sabarimala gold smuggling case. We are also demanding that there should be no pressure from the Chief Minister's Office on the SIT," Satheeshan said.
"We are continuing this protest. Two of our members, CR Mahesh and Najeeb Kanthapuram, are beginning a satyagraha in front of the Assembly entrance. At the same time, we are cooperating with the proceedings of the House and moving forward with this protest," he said.