THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In a major setback to mayor Arya Rajendran and her husband Sachin Dev, MLA, in the road rage controversy, the Cantonment Police on Saturday registered a case against the duo and three others who travelled with them.
The case was registered following a directive from the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court Thiruvananthapuram on a petition filed by KSRTC driver H L Yedu seeking action against the mayor and the MLA . It is learnt that the charges imposed against them include unlawful assembly, public nuisance, obstructing public transport and obstruction in public way.
Earlier, despite complaints by the driver, the police had refused to register a case against the mayor and MLA. On Saturday, Yedu moved the court alleging police inaction.
In his plea before the court, Yedu had accused the mayor of obstructing his official duty and the MLA of barging into the bus and threatening him.
The issue snowballed into a major controversy after the mayor had accused the driver of showing obscene gestures.
Conductor might have misled authorities, says Yedu
Raising fresh allegations against the conductor of the bus, Yedu said the conductor might have misled the authorities. According to the petition, a group of five people, including the mayor and her husband, attempted to intimidate him. He said he decided to approach the court after inaction by the police on his complaint.
In his plea, Yedu demanded to initiate a search for the missing memory card containing the CCTV visuals from the bus. He raised suspicions regarding the memory card suggesting that the conductor may have misled the authorities.
According to Yedu, the conductor was sitting on the front seat, but he lied to the police. Yedu alleged that the conductor is associated with DYFI. The conductor offered his front seat to the MLA when the latter got into the bus, alleged Yedu. The court has accepted the plea and will consider it on Monday.
The Cantonment police had earlier registered a case of sexual harassment against Yedu based on Arya’s complaint. However, the police did not register a case on Yedu’s complaint alleging that Arya and other car passengers obstructed the trip and misbehaved with him.
Meanwhile in another development, the State Human Rights Commission has filed a case on the complaint filed by the driver stating that the mayor and others obstructed his official duties. The commission had ordered the Kerala Police and KSRTC MD to submit an investigation report within a week.