No case against Jayarajan in connection with aircraft protest incident: Kerala CM

PTI, Jul 7, 2022, 2:02 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that no case would be lodged against LDF convener E P Jayarajan over his alleged assault of two Youth Congress workers, who had protested against the CM on board an aircraft after it landed, as he had tried to prevent an attack on him.

Vijayan has indicated this stand of the government in his reply on Wednesday, July 6, to an unstarred question by the opposition in the Assembly as to whether any case has been lodged by the police against Jayarajan for his alleged assault of the Youth Congress workers as was seen on visuals aired on TV channels.

”No” was the reply given by the Chief Minister to the query and the reasons he gave were — Jayarajan tried to stop an attack on Vijayan by three Youth Congress workers and two out of the three while in custody, neither before the police or the court, ever claimed that the LDF convener had assaulted them.

In his reply, the Chief Minister has also said that a complaint was received via email against the LDF convener accusing him of assaulting the Youth Congress workers, but it has been found that the allegation has been made to downplay the offence committed by the trio.

Therefore, there was no need to lodge a case or order an investigation against the LDF convener, the CM has said.

Another query, regarding the incident, that was raised by the opposition was whether any legal advice was sought on whether to lodge a case against Jayarajan and if yes, what was the advice given.

”No” was the CM’s reply to that query.

Two Youth Congress workers on June 13 had raised slogans against the Chief Minister aboard an aircraft in which he traveled to Thiruvananthapuram from Kannur, an act which the CPI(M) termed as ”terror activity”.

A video clip of the incident released on social media by Youth Congress State vice-president and former MLA K S Sabarinathan showed the two being forcefully pushed away by a person accompanying the Chief Minister and the duo questioning whether they do not have a right to question.

Later, Sabarinathan alleged it was senior CPI(M) leader and LDF convener Jayarajan who pushed the protesting Youth Congress workers.

Police, thereafter, registered a case against the three Youth Congress workers under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 120 (B) (Conspiracy), 307 (Attempt to murder), and Section 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty).

They were also charged under Section 22 of the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, Section 11 A of Aircraft Act and Section 3(1) (a) of the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Civil Aviation Act. Thereafter, the two arrested accused were granted bail by the high court which also granted anticipatory bail to the third accused.