By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Mafia gangs are governing the state with brokers ruling the police force, alleged Congress state president K Sudhakaran. “Some portions of the conversation between Swapna Suresh and Shaj Kiran expose the secret deals between CPM leaders and hawala dealers,” he said. Sudhakaran repeated the demand for a court-monitored inquiry into the entire episode, saying inquiries by central and state agencies will not be effective as serious allegations have been levelled against senior police officers and political leaders. 

“Revelations about an institution managing the funds of Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan is also very serious,” he said in a statement. In Kochi, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan asked whether the man who approached Swapna with settlement offers was a messenger of the state police. “Was it an attempt to silence Swapna from revealing more? Some efforts were made for settlement and something seems to be fishy,” said Satheesan. 

Recalling the CPM’s protests against the then chief minister Oommen Chandy when the solar scam happened, Satheesan said Pinarayi need not worry much as Congress workers won’t do to him what CPM workers had done to Chandy. 

Protest marches
Earlier in the day, the Congress organised marches to the Secretariat and all collectorates seeking Pinarayi’s resignation. The marches turned violent in a few districts and the police had to use water cannons to disperse protesters. The Congress has decided to intensify the protests. On Saturday, party workers will stage protest marches in all assembly constituencies and will burn Pinarayi Vijayan in effigy, said Congress state general secretary T U Radhakrishnan.    

The Congress march to Ernakulam collectorate, at Kakkanad, turned violent as the police raised a barricade to block the protesters. Later, the workers tried to break through the barricade after Satheesan had inaugurated the march, and the police resorted to lathicharge and water cannons to disperse them. 
Haseena Muneer, a Mahila Congress leader, sustained injuries in the scuffle.

In Kollam, an RYF worker and a policeman were injured as the march of the Congress and the RYF to the collectorate ended up in a tussle between police personnel and protesters. In Kottayam, Congress workers threw footwear and bottles at the police party deployed to stop the march near the collectorate. MLA Thiruvananchoor Radhakrishnan and former MLA K C Joseph were present when the tussle happened. 
In Palakkad, the march was inaugurated by V K Sreekantan, MP. The march was peaceful. In Kozhikode, the  police used water cannons to disperse protesters.