Thiruvananthapuram: In yet another setback to the ruling CPM in Kerala, a court here on Wednesday ordered to book senior party leader E P Jayarajan in connection with the incident in which he pushed down two protesting Youth Congress activists onboard a flight last month.
The Thiruvananthapuram First Class Judicial Magistrate Leni Thomas ordered the Valiyathura police to file an FIR against Jayarajan and two members of the chief minister's personal staff -- Anil Kumar and Suneesh V M. They will be slapped with charges including attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy.
The court order came a day after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Kerala assembly that there was no need to take any legal action against Jayarajan over the incident. The chief minister had reiterated that Jayarajan had only tried to save him from the Youth Congress activists.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by Youth Congress activists and Kannur natives Furseen Majeed and R K Naveenkumar who are out on bail after being arrested for staging the black flag protest against the chief minister on the flight. They have also been charged with attempt to murder.
The two youths moved the court after the police refused to register a case based on their complaint. In their complaint, they have alleged that Jayarajan and the personal staff of the CM assaulted them for staging a peaceful protest.
Reacting to the court order to book him, Jayarajan said it was only part of the natural course of law. "If a petition is filed, any court will order to probe it. The court order is not at all a setback. I am not afraid of the court procedure as I haven't done any wrong. I will cooperate with the investigation," the LDF convener said.
On Tuesday, the issue took a dramatic turn with the police arresting Congress leader K S Sabarinadhan for allegedly hatching the conspiracy behind the aircraft protest. However, the same day, a Kerala court granted him bail.
