T'PURAM: Vanchiyoor JFC magistrate remanded ex-MLA P C George (72) in judicial custody for 14 days on Thursday after it found that George, who was out on bail in connection with a hate speech at Hindu Mahasabha conference in April, violated his bail conditions by again indulging in provocative speech.
George was first brought to Nandavanam AR Camp by 12.30am on Thursday after a police team from Thiruvananthapuram took him into custody in Ernakulam on Wednesday evening.
He was produced before the magistrate at 7am. After a Covid test and medical checks at the general hospital, he was taken to the district jail in Poojappura. By evening, he was shifted to the central jail to ensure medical care for his high blood pressure. He is lodged in B block at the central jail where a hospital also functions.
In the morning, the magistrate didn't accept the custody application submitted by the police but posted it for Monday considering his age and position in society. Police were demanding his custody for a voice test to corroborate that the hate speech was delivered by George. George's counsel claimed that custodial application was a deliberate move by the police to impede the high court from considering his bail application.
Responding to the queries by the magistrate on his health, George said he takes around a dozen tablets a day and did not need hospital care. While being taken to prison after medical checks, George told the media that he would come out soon legally. He alleged that the government was treating him cruelly for gaining political mileage ahead of Thrikkakara byelection. In the remand report, police cited the alleged hate speech delivered by George in Ernakulam to prove that he had violated bail conditions.
Shaun George alleged that police showed undue haste in arresting his father. "Police vehicle ferrying George to T'puram moved at 120 km/hr speed and the doctor's request to keep him under observation for an hour was not heeded," he said. "There was no haste or vested interest in George's arrest," said Fort ACP Shaji S who arrested George in Ernakulam.
