More than 300 people have been booked in two separate cases after violent clashes erupted in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday during and after an Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at the residence of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The Museum police first registered a case on Wednesday evening over the attack on ED officials, taxi drivers who transported the officers, and security personnel, including CRPF and Kerala Police officers deployed at the premises. Five CPM workers, Nithin Raj, Shahin, Sreejith, Jeevan and Manoj, were arrested in connection with the incident.
A second case was registered on Thursday morning, focusing exclusively on the attack against police personnel.
The ED raid at Pinarayi’s rented residence near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram was conducted in connection with the Exalogic-CMRL case. The search and questioning lasted nearly eight hours. While party workers initially remained calm, tensions gradually escalated as protests outside the residence intensified.
Violence broke out when ED officials attempted to leave the premises after completing the proceedings. Protesters allegedly attacked the vehicles carrying the officials, prompting police and security personnel to intervene and bring the situation under control.
The first FIR was registered against 300 identifiable persons. The arrested CPM workers were booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including unlawful assembly, rioting, aggravated rioting, wrongful restraint, assault on public servants, causing hurt with dangerous weapons, attempt to murder, and provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, including damage to public property.
According to police, the accused allegedly formed an unlawful assembly armed with sticks, stones, bricks and other weapons with the intention of obstructing official duty and attacking the officials.
The FIR, based on complaints filed by an ED Assistant Director, vehicle drivers, CRPF personnel and Kerala Police officers, stated that ED officials arrived at the residence around 7.15 am to conduct searches. After the proceedings concluded at around 2.40 pm, officials boarded vehicles bearing registration numbers KL-22-S-8016, KL-01-DA-2969 and KL-01-DF-6096 to leave the premises.
As the convoy exited the compound, protesters allegedly surrounded the vehicles, shouted abuses and raised slogans calling for the officials to be killed.
The FIR alleges that one ED official was beaten with sticks, injuring his hand, while stones were hurled at one of the drivers, causing serious injuries. Bricks were thrown at the vehicles with the intention of harming the occupants.
Police and CRPF personnel who attempted to prevent the attack were also assaulted with stones, sticks and bricks, resulting in injuries. “The accused obstructed the official duties of Enforcement Directorate officials, Kerala Police personnel and others, attempted to murder them, and damaged the vehicles, causing losses estimated at ₹3 lakh,” the FIR added.
Police said further procedures are underway and the arrested accused are expected to be produced before the court on Thursday.
The second case relates specifically to the attack on police officers deployed at the scene. It was registered based on the complaint of a civil police officer from the Vattiyoorkavu police station who was on duty outside Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence during the raid.
According to the FIR, the accused allegedly attacked police personnel with stones in retaliation for providing protection to ED officials conducting the raid.
The complaint states that after the raid concluded, protesters blocked the officials’ vehicles and attacked them using stones, sticks and bricks. When the complainant attempted to intervene, one identifiable accused allegedly hurled a stone at him, causing a grievous injury to his eyebrow. Other police officers were also injured in the attack.
The FIR further stated that the accused acted together as members of an unlawful assembly and obstructed police personnel from discharging their official duties. The case was registered against one identifiable accused and others under various BNS sections related to unlawful assembly, rioting, assault on public servants and causing hurt using dangerous weapons.
