The Valiathura police on Wednesday booked Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan for attempted murder, criminal conspiracy and criminal intimidation in connection with the alleged assault on two Youth Congress workers who protested against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on board the Indigo flight that landed in Thiruvananthapuram from Kannur on June 13.
The police named Mr. Vijayan’s security officer Anil Kumar and his aide-de-camp V.M. Sunish co-accused in the case.
Judicial First Class Magistrate-II Leny Thomas had issued the directive based on a complaint filed by the Youth Congress protesters Farseen Majeed, Naveen Kumar and Sunit Narayanan. The police had arrested the activists earlier on the charge of imperiling Mr. Vijayan.
The Congress claimed the court’s directive vindicated its stance that Mr. Jayarajan had willfully assaulted the youth exercising their democratic right to express dissent peacefully.
The in-flight protest was the apogee of the Congress campaign demanding an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the allegations raised by UAE gold smuggling case suspect Swapna Suresh against Mr. Vijayan and his family.
The Youth Congress workers had raised slogans against Mr. Vijayan when the aircraft taxied to a halt at the airport. A viral video clip of the incident showed Mr. Jayarajan blocking the protesters and one of the demonstrators lurching back and falling on the cabin floor.
Subsequently, the airline slapped a three-week travel ban on Mr. Jayarajan. Congress highlighted the embargo as proof of Mr. Jayarajan’s guilt.
Former Law Minister and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretariat member A.K. Balan said the court had overstepped its constitutional bounds. “The court could only order the police to report whether the criminal miscellaneous petition filed by the Youth Congress workers revealed a cognisable offence. It could not decide the merit of the petition, he said.
Mr. Balan said the law insulated Mr. Jayarajan from criminal exposure. He had acted in good faith to protect a fellow air passenger. The law would not fault Mr. Vijayan’s security officer or aide-de-camp for doing their duty. The case would not stand legal scrutiny.
Meanwhile, Youth Congress State vice president K.S. Sabarinadhan on Wednesday appeared in front of the investigating officer probing the charge that he had plotted the “bid on the Chief Minister’s life.”
