Thiruvananthapuram: The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Court in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday granted Sreekaryam police one-day custody of former Congress leader Chenthi Anil, also known as Chenthi Ani, in the case related to the alleged obstruction of Chief Minister V D Satheesan’s convoy. His custody has been granted until 5 pm on Wednesday.

In its custody application, police described Anil as a rowdy and anti-social, and said he has six other cases against him and maintains links with anti-social elements. After hearing the application, the court granted custody for a day.

The incident occurred around 5.55 pm on August 28 at Chenthi in Ulloor, when Satheesan was travelling to Chempazhanthy for Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti celebrations. Anil, a patron of the Chenthi Sree Narayana Cultural Centre Charitable Society, allegedly intercepted the Chief Minister’s convoy over Satheesan’s absence from an event organised by the society.

According to the FIR, Satheesan stopped his vehicle after seeing senior Congress leaders at Chenthi and stepped out. Anil allegedly prevented the vehicle from proceeding and questioned the Chief Minister about his absence from the event. He is also accused of publicly insulting Satheesan and obstructing police officers deployed for the CM’s route duty.

Anil was taken into custody around midnight that day, medically examined and formally arrested on Saturday. The case was registered under Sections 126(2) (wrongful restraint), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The FIR names Anil as the first accused and refers to other identifiable persons.

Following the incident, Anil was expelled from the Congress' primary membership on the directions of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).

The Chief Minister’s Office said the organisers had been informed in advance that Satheesan could not attend their programme as he was scheduled to participate in the Chempazhanthy celebrations. The organisers, however, cancelled their event in protest, claiming they were informed of the CM’s inability to attend only at the last minute.