Taking the incident seriously, the police said that they have started a preliminary investigation.
Alappuzha (Kerala):
Kerala Police on Monday said they have started a preliminary inquiry into an purported video of a minor boy raising provocative slogans during a march by the Popular Front of India (PFI) in coastal Alappuzha.
A short video of a boy sitting on the shoulder of a man and allegedly raising provocative slogans went viral on social media during the “Save Republic” rally organized by PFI here on May 21.
Taking the incident seriously, the police said that they have started a preliminary inquiry into the matter.
“…however, no complaint has been received so far and no case has been registered so far,” police told PTI.
The provocative sloganeering by the child drew criticism from various quarters.
Meanwhile, in an internal note made available to the media, PFI said such slogans are against the organization’s policy and will look into the matter.
“We have given approved slogans that were to be raised at a public rally in Alappuzha. Thousands of party workers and others joined the rally to protest against the RSS. The scene of a boy raising slogans came to our notice now. Those slogans were not approved. Or given by the organizers of the rally. It is not the organization’s policy to raise or incite provocative slogans,” PFI state secretary CA Raof said in the note.
Mr. Roof said that steps would be taken to avoid such shortcomings.
Hours before the PFI rally, Bajrang Dal workers took out a “Shaurya Rally” in Alappuzha and raised slogans that “the country cannot be handed over to anti-nationals and communalists”.
Last year, in Alappuzha, a state leader of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of the PFI, and a state BJP leader were killed continuously within 12 hours.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)