Thiruvananthapuram: In an outrageous violation of human rights, the Enforcement Directorate(ED) officials on Wednesday detained Bineesh Kodiyeri’s family including his 2-and-half year old son, inside their residence for more than 24 hours.
At the time of their arrival, only members present at home were Bineesh’s wife , her mother and the toddler. Relatives arrived at the gates on hearing of the lengthy detention but the ED officials would not allow noone in. The incident amounts to violation of children’s rights and calls for legal measure, said Child Rights Commission.
Relatives lodged complaint with Poojapura police citing illegal detention of women and toddler. Bineesh’s family approached Human Rights Commission and Women’s Commission in the incident. They also petitioned the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on the illegal confinement.
As protest mounted outside the gate on Wednesday, the officials allowed the members to walk up to the gate once for a brief time. “They locked us up in a room and later came up with documents, intimidating us to place our signatures on them,” said Bineesh’s mother-in-law. They did not allow us to even take our medicine, the family complained, adding that, the sleuths stopped Bineesh’s wife from having a word with members from Child Rights Commission waiting outside.
We said we wouldn’t sign on their papers ; they didn’t show us the articles supposedly picked from around the house; they threatened us with arrest if we refused to sign, Bineesh’s mother-in-law told people outside the gate. They took away our mobiles and would not let us call our lawyer, she added. They threatened more trouble for Bineesh if the members refused to sign. ‘We can’t place signatures on materials not belonging here, though it means arrest,” the family reportedly told the officials in protest.
Speculation was rife that ED was in the process of fabricating fake evidences to incriminate Bineesh. Wednesday’s raid was played out after a search of Bineesh’s home yielded no kind of evidence at all.
ED officials had with them a credit card belonging to Anoop Muhammad - an accused in drug trafficking. They sought signature on it from Bineesh’s wife to imply it was sourced from the house. It adds to suspicion that ED refuses to give a copy of so-called evidences, despite the family requesting for the same.
Though the raid that began early morning had ended by noon, the officials lingered well into the night after the family refused to sign on papers as per their demand. ED had also summoned paramilitary during the course of the raid, to further create a fearsome atmosphere. In the raid lasting hours, all that the officials came up with is a diary, which they returned. The family had full cooperated with the raid up until the officials demanded signatures on documents they did not recognise.
