Thiruvananthapuram: KSRTC driver Yadhu L H has sent a legal notice to the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, State Police Chief and Cantonment SI Prajeesh Sasi, alleging that the probe into the incident where Mayor Arya Rajendran stopped a KSRTC bus was derailed under political influence. The notice, served through advocate Ashok P Nair, demands ₹1 lakh compensation within 15 days from the investigating officer, failing which Yadhu has warned of legal action in the jurisdictional court.

The incident occurred on April 27, 2024, when Yadhu was driving a KSRTC bus from Thrissur to Thiruvananthapuram. Near Saphallyam Shopping Complex, Palayam, a red Wagon-R allegedly overtook the bus dangerously, stopped on the zebra line and forced it to halt. The occupants — Mayor Arya Rajendran, her husband MLA Sachin Dev, and three others — allegedly confronted Yadhu, entered the bus, used abusive language, and threatened passengers, forcing them to alight. While the couple accused the driver of making inappropriate gestures as their vehicle overtook the bus, Yadhu denied this, claiming instead that he was harassed by the mayor and her husband, which disrupted his duties.

Following the incident, a case was registered under IPC sections 353, 447, 341, 294(b), 201 r/w 34 and Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act. However, Yadhu alleges that the investigation was manipulated to shield Arya and Sachin, despite video footage aired by news channels and an inventory mahazar prepared by the investigating officer on May 9, 2024.

The notice accuses the Cantonment SI of carrying out a “zero investigation”, deliberately exonerating Arya and Sachin, and failing to recover the vehicle used. It states that despite a magistrate’s directive for a proper probe, the final report filed on March 30, 2025, dropped charges against the Mayor and MLA and named only one accused, Aravind alias Nandhu. The charges were reduced to minor bailable offences under IPC Section 283, KP Act 120B, and MV Act 177, which can be settled with fines.

Yadhu claims the lapse was deliberate, politically influenced, and caused him heavy legal expenses, harassment and mental agony. He has sought damages of ₹1 lakh from Cantonment SI Prajeesh Sasi, along with the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary and State Police Chief, for what he terms a “purposeful derailing of the probe”.