SIT interrogates former CM's security officers for over seven hours in assault case; no arrest recorded

ALAPPUZHA: Security officers attached to former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan were questioned for more than seven hours by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in connection with the alleged assault on KSU and Youth Congress leaders who protested against the Nava Kerala Yatra. No arrests were recorded following the questioning.

The officers, identified as Anilkumar, Sandeep, Shaiju, Vipin and Arun, are listed as the first five accused in the case. They were questioned by a team led by Crime Branch SP Shoukath Ali, as directed by the court. The Alappuzha District Sessions Court had earlier granted them anticipatory bail.

Investigators had prepared a detailed questionnaire and conducted the interrogation under the supervision of DySP Baiju K. Paulose. The officers arrived at the Crime Branch office with their lawyer at around 9.40 a.m. and were questioned separately.

During the interrogation, the accused reportedly maintained that their actions were part of their official duty. They said they noticed protesters raising slogans and moving toward the former Chief Minister's vehicle despite being under police custody. According to their statement, they stopped the vehicle, got out, and intervened as part of security measures. The officers also claimed that they did not intentionally target anyone's head. They said force was used only on the arms and legs in accordance with VIP security protocols. When investigators asked who had instructed them to assault the protesters, the officers reportedly replied that they acted on their own after noticing a potential law-and-order situation.

The investigation team, however, was not convinced by the explanation. Officials questioned how the alleged assault of persons already in police custody could be considered part of official duty. They also asked whether injuries to the head were the result of violations of guidelines governing the use of batons. The officers stated that the batons issued to them for duty had been returned to their respective units after their assignment ended. They also said they had carried the batons based on intelligence inputs warning of a possible security threat to the former Chief Minister.

No arrests were made as the questioning has not yet been completed. The officers were allowed to leave at around 4.25 p.m. and have been directed to appear before the investigation team again at 10 a.m. on Friday. Heavy police security was deployed outside the Crime Branch office during the questioning.