ALAPPUZHA: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has submitted its report before the Alappuzha Magistrate Court regarding the alleged assault on Youth Congress workers during the Nava Kerala Sadas. The report reportedly identifies five police personnel as accused in the incident.
According to the findings, police officers identified as Anilkumar, the gunman, and S Sandeep, security officer of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and police personnel Shaiju, Vipin, and Arun were found responsible for the assault. The SIT has recommended departmental action against the officers, and the recommendation is expected to be forwarded to the DGP soon.
The SIT submitted a report to the court after the police registered the case and started an investigation based on the directive of the court in 2024.
The report said that Youth Congress state secretary Ajay Juel Kuriakose and KSU district president A D Thomas were beaten on the head despite being restrained by local police personnel. The SIT reportedly found that serious violations of protocol and conduct occurred during the incident. The video footage recorded by news reporters acts as evidence of the attack.
The gunman and security officer attached to the former chief minister were not charged in the case earlier, though the report allegedly found lapses on their part as well.
During the SIT probe, officials reportedly told the investigators that a top police officer, who was in charge of law and order duties at the time, had intervened to protect the gunmen involved in the incident. Statements given before the SIT alleged that case diaries were altered after the officers were summoned to Thiruvananthapuram.
The incident took place on December 15, 2023, during the Nava Kerala Sadas led by Pinarayi Vijayan. The activists jumped into a vehicle after flashing a black flag near General Hospital Junction. Security personnel, accompanied in a patrol vehicle, attacked the activists.
The visuals of the attack were published in the media; however, the police tried to rescue the security personnel. In the initial period, local police refused to register a case; however, the victims filed a private complaint in court.
Later, the court intervened and handed over the case to the crime branch. The crime branch also tried to give a clean chit to the personnel. After the UDF came into power, an SIT was formed to begin re-investigation.