Thiruvananthapuram | Police on Wednesday arrested 5 persons in connection with the violent attack on the vehicles carrying ED officials who raided former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's rented house.
The arrests were made following several hours of a stand-off with party workers and leaders outside a CPI(M) area committee office at Palayam here.
While the party leaders, including former ministers V Sivankutty and Kadamkampally Surendran, MLA V Joy and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, refused to allow police entry to the office, a large number of police personnel stood outside.
The party leaders claimed that none of the persons involved in the attack on the ED officials' vehicles was present in the CPI(M) office and said police would not be allowed to enter it while they were alive.
The police too refused to withdraw from there, saying they suspected that the culprits were inside the party office.
Following this, there were several rounds of discussions between senior police officers and the party leaders outside the CPI(M) office.
Later, a DCP-rank officer told reporters that of the 12 persons identified to be directly involved in the attack, four have been taken into custody, and more remain to be arrested.
He said that it cannot be said whether the arrested persons were inside the Palayam area committee office of the party, as the police did not enter it.
However, visuals on TV channels showed some persons allegedly involved in the attack coming out of the office and being arrested subsequently.
The alleged accused came out of the office following discussions between senior police officers and the party leaders.
The DCP said that the police presence outside the CPI(M) office will continue for now and will be withdrawn as per the situation.
He said obstructing government servants and attacking their vehicles was a criminal act, and all the culprits will be arrested.
He denied there was any lapse in arranging security for the ED officials outside Vijayan's rented house, saying "we had the manpower".
ADGP (Law and Order) H Venkatesh told reporters that there was a slight lapse despite there being a large number of police personnel and security arrangements in place at the site.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids were linked to the financial dealings between Vijayan’s daughter's firm and a sand mining company.
A total of 10 premises in Kerala, including Vijayan's rented house at Bakery Junction here and his permanent residence in Kannur, were raided by the ED as part of its investigation against his daughter, Veena T, in the CMRL money laundering case.
The action was taken a day after the Kerala High Court dismissed a writ petition filed by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) seeking to quash the ED proceedings, thereby allowing the central agency to continue its probe.
The ED probe stems from a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office after the interim board for settlement of the Income Tax Department questioned the legitimacy of certain transactions undertaken by CMRL with Veena's now-defunct firm.
According to the ED's case, registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2024, CMRL allegedly made an illegal payment of Rs 1.72 crore to Veena's company, Exalogic Solutions, between 2017 and 2020, even though the IT firm had not provided any services to the company.
Thiruvananthapuram | Around 300 people were booked by the Kerala Police following an alleged attack on officials of the ED and security personnel here after a raid linked to former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, officials said on Wednesday.
The case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including unlawful assembly, rioting, assault on public servants, wrongful restraint and attempt to murder. Charges under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act have also been invoked.
Among the most serious charges is attempt to murder under Section 109 of the BNS, which carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison, or life imprisonment if severe injuries are caused.
The First Information Report (FIR), registered by the Museum Police Station, alleged that some members of the crowd attacked officers travelling with the Enforcement Directorate team using sticks, injuring one officer on the hand.
Stones and bricks were allegedly thrown at the vehicles, seriously injuring the driver of one of the cars.
Security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force and the Kerala Police who tried to bring the situation under control were also attacked, according to the FIR.
Several officers suffered injuries during the violence.
Police said the attackers also damaged official vehicles, causing losses estimated at around Rs 3 lakh.
Officials said the accused persons were "identifiable", though arrests had not yet been made and the investigation was continuing.
Police are also examining video footage and other evidence collected from the area.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on Wednesday after ED officials completed searches at a rented house near Bakery Junction where Vijayan, currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, and his daughter were staying.
The FIR stated that the search operation began at around 7.15 am and continued for more than seven hours. After completing the proceedings, ED officials and accompanying staff attempted to leave the premises in three official vehicles.
Police alleged that a crowd of around 300 people had gathered outside the house by then.
The group was allegedly armed with sticks, stones and bricks. As the vehicles came onto the road, the crowd surrounded them, shouted abuses and raised slogans calling for the officials to be "killed", the FIR stated.
The ED raids were linked to the financial dealings between Vijayan's daughter's firm and a sand mining company.
A total of 10 premises in Kerala, including Vijayan's rented house at Bakery Junction here and his permanent residence in Kannur, were raided by the ED as part of its investigation against his daughter, Veena T, in the CMRL money laundering case.
