Thrissur (Kerala) | The Thrissur city police have launched a preliminary inquiry into allegations that Union Minister Suresh Gopi misused an ambulance during the Thrissur Pooram festival held in April this year, a police source said on Monday.

The police initiated the inquiry against the Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum based on a complaint lodged by a local CPI leader.

According to a police source, the preliminary inquiry aims to determine whether there is sufficient merit to register an FIR regarding the incident, which occurred before the Lok Sabha elections.

The complaint has been forwarded to the Thrissur city Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) for the preliminary inquiry, the source told PTI.

Gopi won the Thrissur Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket in the elections held after the Pooram festival, defeating his nearest rivals, V S Sunil Kumar of the CPI and K Muraleedharan of the Congress.

The complaint, filed by the local CPI leader, claims that Gopi arrived at the Pooram grounds in a Seva Bharati ambulance after the Thiruvambady faction temporarily paused the festival. It alleges that the ambulance, meant for medical emergencies, was used for non-medical purposes.

Additionally, the complaint states that Gopi was transported to a restricted area where other vehicles were prohibited.

This year's Pooram festivities were marred by controversy, allegedly due to police interventions and subsequent disputes.

The Kerala government has ordered a three-level probe, including an investigation into the alleged role of the police in the matter.

For the first time in the history of the festival, the display of fireworks--a major attraction of the event--was held in broad daylight the following day instead of the early morning hours, leading to disappointment among festival-goers.