THRISSUR: The Town East police in Thrissur registered a case against Suresh Gopi, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, on Sunday for allegedly misusing ambulance services during the Thrissur Pooram festival.
The case was registered based on a complaint by CPI leader Sumesh. He alleged that Suresh, who was then a BJP candidate, traveled to the Thiruvambady Devaswom office in an ambulance around 3 AM on April 20, when the Pooram rituals were abruptly halted. Videos that circulated online after the event showed Suresh exiting the ambulance and walking to the Devaswom office without any apparent health issues.
CPI leader V. S. Sunilkumar welcomed the police's decision to register a case and investigate the matter.
“It is beyond doubt that whatever happened, resulting in the Thrissur Pooram crisis, was orchestrated by the BJP, which also benefited from it. We are hopeful that the three-tier probe into the incident, as well as the investigation into the ambulance journey, will uncover the truth,” he said.
Meanwhile, BJP district president K. K. Aneeshkumar stated that Suresh would cooperate with the investigation. “He was unwell and needed to take an ambulance instead of walking all the way. It was due to his interventions that the Pooram rituals were completed without any chaos,” he explained.