Kerala CM’s vehicle stopped during Jayanti event; case registered against DCC member

Thiruvananthapuram: Police have registered a case against several people, including DCC member Chenti Anil, over allegations of misbehaviour with Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

The incident allegedly occurred when the Chief Minister was on his way to attend the Jayanti convention at Chembazhanthi. Instead of attending the Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti convention at Chenti, Satheesan was returning when a group led by Anil, the organiser of the Chenti event, reportedly flagged down his vehicle.

The Chief Minister got out of the vehicle after the activists stopped it. According to the complaint, Anil and others allegedly abused and misbehaved with Satheesan. The Chief Minister’s security personnel subsequently intervened and pushed Anil and his associates away.

The Chenti programme was not included in the list of events scheduled to be attended by the Chief Minister.

The case was registered based on a statement given by a Grade SI who was present at the scene and witnessed the alleged incident.

As Satheesan did not inaugurate the event, the organisers called off the public meeting and staged a protest.

However, Anil claimed that the Chief Minister had earlier promised to attend the programme and that security and other arrangements had been made accordingly, following instructions from police officials.

Anil said the organisers were unaware of why the Chief Minister had skipped the event. He claimed that the activists stopped the vehicle only because they strongly wanted Satheesan to attend the programme.

He added that the Chief Minister’s conduct had upset the organisers, prompting them to call off the public meeting.

Following the controversy, the City Police Commissioner directed the police to register a case.