Kerala Police have detained around 300 people following an alleged attack on ED officials and security personnel in Thiruvananthapuram following 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, unlawful restraint and attempt to murder. The charges were also invoked under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Among the most serious charges is attempted murder under Article 109 of the National Security Law, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, or life imprisonment if serious injuries occur.
The first information report, registered by the Museum Police Station, claimed that some members of the crowd attacked the officers traveling with the Enforcement Directorate team using sticks, resulting in an officer being injured in the hand.
Stones and bricks were allegedly thrown at the two vehicles, seriously injuring the driver of one of the vehicles.
Security personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force and Kerala Police who tried to control the situation were also attacked, the FIR said.
A number of officers were injured during the violence.
Police said the attackers also damaged official vehicles, causing losses estimated at approx $3 lakh.
Officials said the accused have been identified, although they have not yet been arrested and the investigation is ongoing.
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 Leader of Opposition in Kerala Parliament, and his daughter were staying.
The search operation began at around 7.15 am and continued for more than seven hours, the FIR said. After completing the procedures, emergency department officials and their accompanying staff attempted to leave the building in three official vehicles.
Police claimed that a crowd of about 300 people had gathered outside the house by then.
The group was allegedly armed with sticks, stones and bricks. When the vehicles reached the road, the crowd surrounded them, shouted insults and raised slogans demanding the “kill” of those responsible, the FIR said.
The ED raids were linked to financial transactions between Vijayan’s daughter’s company 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 probe against his daughter, Veena T, in the CMRL money laundering case.
