Kannur: A final charge sheet has been filed in connection with the black flag protest staged against former Health Minister Veena George in Kannur, with investigators dropping several serious charges, including the allegation of attempted murder.

According to the charge sheet, the investigation team was unable to establish evidence of any attempt to harm the minister or attack her with weapons during the protest. As a result, the case has effectively been reduced to one involving a black flag demonstration.

The incident had sparked considerable political controversy at the time. The CPM had alleged that there was an attempt on the minister's life and claimed that she was physically assaulted, including being injured when her neck was forcefully grabbed. Based on these allegations, serious charges, including attempted murder and assault with weapons, were initially invoked against the KSU activists involved in the protest.

The dropping of these charges is likely to reignite political debate, particularly over the imprisonment of KSU activists who were arrested under the more serious sections of the law.

Several opposition leaders, including MLA T.O. Mohanan, had earlier approached the Home Department, alleging that the activists had been falsely implicated and unjustly jailed.