A 93 year old former naxalite leader in Kerala and human rights activist has preferred to be in jail rather than availing bail as a mark of protest.
Ayinoor Vasu, popularly known as GROW Vasu, was arrested by the Kozhikode city police on Saturday on the basis of a long pending warrant in connection with a protest against the encounter killing of two naxalites in Nilambur in Malappuram district in 2016. The charges against him included obstructing police duty and unlawful assembly.
Vasu was produced before a local court in Kozhikode on Saturday and the court granted bail. But Vasu was not willing to avail the bail or pay a fine maintaining that he had only staged his protest against the encounter killing. Even as many lawyers and social activist also tried to pursue him, Vasu stuck to his stand.
Also Read | Surrendered naxalites narrate woes
The court later remanded him to judicial custody till August 14. He was shifted to Kozhikode sub-jail by Saturday evening.
CPI(Maoist) leader Kuppusamy alias Kuppu Devaraj and Ajita alias Kaveri were killed in an encounter in the forest areas of Nilambur in Malappuram on 2016 November 24. Vasu participated in a protest by a group of rights activists when the bodies of the two were brought to the mortuary of Kozhikode medical college.
Vasu was actively involved in naxalite movements in the 1960s and had undergone imprisonment. After his association with Gwalior Rayons Organisation of Workers, Vasu was known as GROW Vasu.