A court in Perumbavoor on Monday remanded in judicial custody four Students’ Federation of India (SFI) activists arrested in connection with a recent protest at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS), Kalady, during which a ‘symbolic funeral’ of Vice-Chancellor (V-C) Ciza Thomas was allegedly staged.

The remanded activists were identified as Mebin Jose, 24; Basil Scaria, 29; Vijeesh, 23; and Yadhu Krishnan, 19. While being taken away from the court, the accused told the media that they were being targeted through a fabricated case. The SFI has also announced strong protests in the coming days against the alleged targeted attack on their activists.

The accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 121(1) (voluntarily causes grievous hurt), 127(2) (wrongful confinement),74 (assault or use of criminal force against women), and 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging their duty).

Two separate cases were registered in connection with the incident on Thursday. The first case was registered on Thursday based on a complaint by a police officer deployed on the campus during the protest, while the second FIR was registered on Sunday following a complaint by Ms. Thomas. Eighteen students and other identifiable SFI members have been booked based on the V-C’s complaint. The accused allegedly manhandled and defamed the V-C and damaged her car, according to the FIR.