Thrissur Pooram disruption: VS Sunil Kumar appears before probe team; slams centre for curbs on fireworks

Thrissur: In a major development in the Thrissur Pooram disruption case, CPI leader VS Sunil Kumar appeared before the probe team on Saturday. After recording his statement before the investigation officials, he raised a sharp criticism against the centre for imposing unnecessary curbs on fireworks. He added that the temple festivals including Thrissur Pooram are affected by the curbs imposed by the central government.

“ Union minister had summoned a meeting of Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) officials in August. In the meeting, PESO had agreed to give relaxations in the curbs on fireworks while considering requests of the devaswom boards. But, now, the centre issued an order imposing more restrictions on fireworks,” said Sunil Kumar taking a dig at Union Minister Suresh Gopi and the central government.

He added that a meeting of the festival committee would be held on Saturday evening to conduct Thrissur Pooram with its traditional grandeur.

Manorama News reported that Sunil Kumar has given a statement before the probe team naming Suresh Gopi, BJP and RSS as the key conspirators of the Pooram disruption. A team led by Malappuram Additional SP recorded the CPI leader's statement on Saturday at Ramanilayam here.

When Sunil Kumar raised allegations against the BJP, Thiruvambady Devaswom accused police of disrupting the festival. In a counter-affidavit before the High Court, the devaswom board claimed that no untoward incidents occurred during the Pooram and that the police's actions were unnecessary, unreasonable, and unfounded. It also demanded action against the officials involved and a judicial inquiry into the incident.