Thiruvananthapuram district BJP district president Adv. V V Rajesh has come out with severe allegations against Kerala police after Baijukumar, an RSS worker, died inside Thiruvananthapuram Central jail. Rajesh accused jail officials and the Superintendent of the Thiruvananthapuram Central Jail of indifference toward BJP political leaders housed in Poojappura central prison. Rajesh is also the Local Self Government (LSG) Councilor from Poojappura ward.

Jail authorities are engaging in political revenge, he said. Their attitude is threatening the lives of the inmates of the Central Jail. There are many political prisoners in Kerala, including ones who have filed appeals in the higher courts and are awaiting trial. These people are facing threats to their lives due to the negligence of the authorities, he alleged.

Overcrowding and lack of facilities cause mental stress to many inmates. Several suffer from diseases, and neither the jail superintendent nor other officials are not ready to provide timely treatment to such patients. They are not taken to the hospital even after they are informed about the illness.

These prisoners receive some comfort when relatives and public officials visit the prisons. They visit regularly and inform the jail superintendent about inmates who are sick. Cruelly, jail authorities refuse to provide them with proper treatment.

It is alleged that this attitude is reserved for BJP workers, while communists and radical Islamists receive VIP treatment. The worst goons receive plenty of extrajudicial bail. They then indulge in drug-fuelled rave parties. Others even use the opportunity to get married.

Keezharur Edaprakonam Rajesh Bhavan Baijukumar (42), who died in jail last day, was innocent and was awaiting justice from an appellate court. Even though Baijukumar told the officials he had chest pain, the officials, including the jail superintendent, allegedly neglected his cries for help.

There are allegations that communist goons physically assaulted him constantly. The police force is filled with backdoor entries who cheat during Kerala PSC exams, allegedly with help from political leaders. They are mostly CPM militants from left-wing feeder organizations like the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI).

Threats also arise from the treacherous Pacha Velicham (Green Light), a group of terrorists believed to have infiltrated the police service, per the National Investigative Agency (NIA). They are reportedly radical Islamists aligned with the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

Some prison officials are part of a mafia involved in the widespread sale of narcotics inside prisons. Trial prisoners smuggle in drugs that are handed to them on court premises. Allegedly, prison officials conspire and sell the contraband to prisoners. Criminals even roam inside the jail, flouting fully loaded pistols.

Even after many hours, jail authorities failed to provide medical treatment to Baijukumar. This information was received from fellow prisoners. Ultimately, he died in prison due to the delay in taking him to the hospital.

Thiruvananthapuram Medical College’s government doctors declared him dead and claimed he died of a heart attack. Why did not the jail doctors attend to him remains a mystery. Suspiciously, this happened even though Baijukumar informed jail authorities that he was ill.

The Kerala Home Department should immediately intervene in this matter and take action against the culprits. Otherwise, BJP will come up with an intense struggle. Rajesh also demanded that the state government provide immediate financial assistance to Baijukumar’s bereaved family.

BJP workers who knew Baijukumar requested that under these circumstances, whether Baijukumar was beaten to death should be investigated. Some reminded Rajesh that he should help political prisoners like Baijukumar when they are alive. After all, they are the ones who set aside their lives, expecting nothing in return, and end up making the ultimate sacrifice.

Baijukumar was the former Vellarada RSS Sampark Pramukh. Baijukumar’s funeral procession moved to Keezharoor, where his body was kept for public viewing at Saraswati Vidyala. Several people, including BJP State Secretary Karamana Jayan, attended the ceremony. He was cremated at his ancestral home.

Baijukumar is survived by his parents, Rajendran Nair and Shyamala, his wife Saritha, and his children, Kashinath and Devnanda.