BJP leaders and supporters staged a sit-in outside the Kerala Assembly over councillor R Sugathan's detention. The protest sharpened scrutiny of alleged KAAPA misuse after the High Court quashed the order.
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Thiruvananthapuram,Oct 13, 2026 22:32 IST
The BJP in Kerala on Tuesday staged a sit-in protest outside the state Assembly against the alleged illegal preventive detention of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councillor R Sugathan, who was released on October 6 after a High Court order.
The protesters, including BJP councillor and former DGP R Sreelekha, senior party leader Sobha Surendran, Sugathan and his family members, marched to the Assembly and held placards condemning the alleged misuse of the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, or KAAPA.
BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar backed the protest and alleged in a post on X that the Congress and the CPI(M) were trying to undermine democracy and overturn the people's mandate in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. He said, "While @RahulGandhi does his fraud drama in Delhi, in Keralam a real case of violation of constitutional rights of a democratically elected Councillor Sugathan needs accountability. Sugathan was imprisoned for 4 months based on the order of KAAPA Advisory board. The High Court has quashed his detention, noting it was passed in a 'casual manner, without proper application of mind'. This was a deliberate, planned, criminal conspiracy by the @pinarayivijayan govt, followed by the @vdsatheesan govt, who used and weaponised the KAAPA Advisory Board, a District Collector and the police," he alleged.
Chandrasekhar said the party would always stand by its workers, their families and those facing distress. He also said the BJP would get to the bottom of the matter and ensure accountability. Addressing the protesters, Sreelekha asked whether the state government had the courage to recover Rs 12,000 from the then district collector who issued the detention order and pay the amount to Sugathan. "It should be done as per the law. The KAAPA Advisory Board should resign," she said.
Sugathan was placed under preventive detention at Viyyur for six months from June 8 under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 2007, as he had been chargesheeted in several criminal cases. The High Court set aside his detention on October 6 and ordered his release. The protest on Tuesday focused on the BJP's allegation that the law had been misused in Sugathan's case and its demand for accountability.
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