Five recruits to the 'Indian Reserve Battalion Thunderbolts', who climbed to the top of a building in the city centre, threatened to jump to death unless granted posting on Tuesday here.
The Kerala Thunderbolts is an elite command force of the Kerala Police, under the India Reserve Battalion, set up in accordance with the Centre's directions post the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
On Monday, seven recruits had climbed the tree on the Government Secretariat premises, but two of them were convinced to come down. They were promised an audience with the Chief Minister and top government officials.
But the other five, who have positioned themselves atop a five-story building that overlooks the Secretariat, refused to come down for the second day despite the efforts of the police, fire and rescue services as hundreds of people look on.
Their grievance is that they have not been given a posting despite having figured in the rank list for the last six years. ‘Job now or death,’ a banner hung from the heights read. Their representatives have already had several rounds of discussions with the Chief Minister, the Director-General of Police and the Home Secretary but this has yielded in nothing.
Repeat Demonstration
The demonstrators have refused to budge unless they get an assurance in writing that their issue would be considered and acted upon.
The rank holders had staged the same type of protests a year-and-half ago. Then too they had scaled up the same building and threatened to jump down.
They had relented after extracting a promise from the authorities that their case would be considered within six months. The promise was not kept till now, prompting them to start a sit-in in front of the Secretariat from July 27 seeking posting for all 550 recruits figuring on the rank list.
The scenario took an unexpected turn from yesterday morning when two of them clambered on to the huge tree in front of the Secretariat and the other five went to the building on the opposite side.
Those who are huddled up on top of the building are carrying canisters containing diesel which they repeatedly wave to the onlookers on ground.