Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Friday said that the attack on ED officials after a search at Pinarayi Vijayan's rented residence here was a serious offence.

Breaking his silence on the issue, Satheesan told reporters here that what happened was a serious crime.

"Attacking investigators and damaging their vehicles is a serious offense, and it should not be repeated. That is our position," he said.

The CM said that the state government and police only intervene when there is a law-and-order issue, and "we take strong action in such cases".

Justifying the search by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Satheesan said it was carried out in connection with a case already registered by a central agency and it was an ongoing investigation.

He said that the search was carried out as part of investigation.

"What role does the state government have in this? No role at all. The state government was not even informed about the searches. The state police were also not informed," Satheesan said.

He said that the Congress-led UDF too had raised allegations of financial deals with a mining firm, CMRL, which also forms part of the ED probe.

He further said that the UDF had complaints about the central agency investigation itself as it was a four-year-old case, and nothing was done before or after the LDF government came to power.

The ED searches were linked to financial dealings between Vijayan's daughter's firm and a sand mining company.

A total of 10 premises in Kerala, including Vijayan's rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram and his permanent residence in Kannur, were searched by the ED on Wednesday as part of its investigation into the CMRL money laundering case involving his daughter Veena T.