Five Congress men knocked down by CM Pinarayi's convoy

Thiruvananthapuram: Two Youth Congress workers and two Congress men were knocked down by the leading pilot vehicle of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's convoy on Thursday. The convoy had just left Secretariat when the incident happened.

Visuals show Youth Congress workers, who were standing along the roadside that leads down from Secretariat to Bakery Junction, rushing towards the convoy that was approaching fast with headlights on. The pilot vehicle in the front, though it did not slow, did swerve a bit to the right and then to the left in an apparent bid to avoid the protesters waving black flags but still knocked down three. However, the vehicle that came second knocked down two Congress men, who were on a bike and got trapped between a divider and the convoy.

One of them is Thiruvananthapuram DCC general secretary Krishna Kumar, the husband of Kollam DCC president Bindu Krishna. The other was M Muneer, Thiruvananthapuram DCC vice president. Injured Youth Congress workers were Kattakada Rajiv and Biju.

The convoy sped off without slowing down. It were the police who were present at the spot who rushed the injured to the hospital. Congress now charged the chief minister's escort of purposefully 'running down' its party workers. “They did not even stop to take the injured men to the hospital. The vehicles just sped away,” said a Youth Congress member who was present at the spot.

The member conceded that the driver of the vehicle that came first would have been taken by surprise by the protesters rushing from all sides. “But what about the second vehicle. Its driver would have definitely seen what was happening. Why did it move so close to the right edge except to knock down two of our members in a motorbike. They did not even attempt to stand in the way of the CM's convoy,” the witness said.

Five Congress men knocked down by CM Pinarayi's convoy — The injured Congress workers were taken to the hospital by the police.

Sources said the YC workers had gathered in the capital as part of the 'black day' march organised by the UDF in the capital on Thursday. The five who had been knocked down have sustained only minor injuries.