Veena George attack: Youth Congress dangles gold, cash, kuzhi mandi for assault proof; Jayarajan's video flunks at screening

Kannur: After overnight attacks on Congress offices across Kerala over the alleged assault on Health Minister Veena George, the Youth Congress on Thursday hit back with sarcasm, announcing a public challenge offering one sovereign (8 grams) of gold to anyone who can produce video evidence of the purported attack.

The challenge was issued by the Kannur Youth Congress District Committee even as the minister was shifted to Pariyaram Medical College from Kannur District Hospital after claiming she sustained a neck injury during a protest at Kannur railway station on Wednesday.

One of the first CPM leaders to present "evidence" of the alleged assault was party State Secretariat member M V Jayarajan. Showing a video clip to the media, he claimed that a black flag-wielding KSU activist had reached close to the minister's neck.

"I am showing a visual. I think you will understand if you see it. In the visual, the black cloth is near the right side of the minister's neck. I don’t think this visual is widely out," Jayarajan said. He further alleged that the KSU's intention was not to protest but to murder the minister. CPM state secretary M V Govindan reiterated the attempt-to-murder charge.

However, Jayarajan's claim quickly fell apart. The "black cloth" seen in the video was not a KSU flag but part of the navy blue safari suit worn by the minister's gunman, M S Abhilash, who was rushing in to form a security cordon around her.

When the minister entered the railway station, Abhilash was trailing behind her on the left. On noticing the protest, he moved to her right to create a protective ring. The strap of his shoulder bag is also visible in the footage, contradicting the claim that a protester reached her neck.

Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan accused Govindan of "lying that KSU workers twisted the minister's neck and arm" to provoke CPM workers.

Meanwhile, the five KSU workers booked on charges including attempt to murder were remanded in judicial custody early Thursday morning. 

Youth Congress state vice-president Abin Varkey Kodiyattu separately announced a cash reward of ₹1 lakh for anyone who could produce visuals of the alleged assault. The Pathanamthitta Youth Congress dumbed it down further by offering 'kuzhi mandi' as a reward.

The protest at the railway station was widely covered by the visual media. Railway Police, investigating the case, reviewed CCTV footage but reportedly found no evidence of KSU workers physically assaulting the minister.

Available footage shows three KSU activists, who had been waiting on Platform 1, rushing forward with black flags and raising slogans demanding the minister's resignation. Police personnel were seen intercepting and holding them back before they could reach her.

The visuals also show police officers physically restraining the minister when she moved towards the protesters. At one point, she is seen chiding Town Police Sub-Inspector Deepthi V V for not clearing her way. Shortly afterwards, she is seen smiling on camera.

In another clip, the minister remarks that she had anticipated a protest at the railway station on seeing a large number of television reporters present, adding that such protests are often tipped off to the media in advance.

However, upon reaching Platform 2, where Speaker A N Shamseer was waiting to board the Vande Bharat train with her, the minister complained of neck pain. Shamseer stated that the pain was due to an assault during the KSU protest.

He immediately called Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and handed the phone to the minister. Veena George, who had been seated, stood up on realising it was the Chief Minister and told him that two groups of protesters had been present at the station. "There was pushing and shoving. When I reached here (Platform 2), I felt pain in my neck," she is heard saying.

Youth Congress state working president Binu Chulliyil wrote to the State Police Chief seeking an inquiry into Speaker Shamseer's role in what he described as the creation of a narrative that the minister was assaulted.

Around 8 pm on Wednesday- nearly four hours after she was admitted to the District Hospital- the superintendent issued a medical bulletin stating that the minister had been examined by two teams of doctors: first by a committee at the District Hospital and subsequently by a team from Kannur Government Medical College. After the two rounds of evaluation, the medical college team recommended an MRI scan. The bulletin did not specify the nature of the injury or how it was sustained.

Though the minister was shifted to Kannur Medical College later that night for further evaluation, no medical bulletin had been issued by the hospital as of noon on Thursday.

Amid competing narratives, the Congress has maintained that there is no visual evidence of any KSU worker physically assaulting the minister and has accused the CPM of scripting a political drama to divert attention from mounting public anger over a series of lapses and shortcomings in governance, particularly in the Health Department.