Kannur: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to conduct “further investigation” into the alleged attack on former Health Minister Veena George at Kannur railway station will “examine all aspects of the case”, including how serious criminal charges, including attempt to murder, were invoked against five Kerala Students Union (KSU) activists following a black-flag protest.

SIT head U Preman, Commandant of the Kerala Armed Police IV Battalion in Kannur, told Onmanorama that the probe ordered by State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar was not a reinvestigation of the case conducted by the Railway Police. “This is a further investigation. We will investigate all aspects of the case and question all those who are necessary for the investigation,” Preman said.

The SIT was constituted on August 31, following a petition by Kannur MLA T O Mohanan to the Home Department seeking a detailed probe into the February 25 incident. The State Police Chief’s order said the SIT would be headed by Preman and assisted by Kannur City Assistant Commissioner of Police A P Azad. Preman said he was yet to form the full team and it would have around eight members.

The case was initially investigated by the Kerala Railway Police. The charges of attempt to murder and rioting with dangerous weapons against the KSU activists came under scrutiny even at the stage of their bail hearing.

Five KSU activists -- Athul M C, Akshay V V, Bithul Balan, Ahmed Yasin and Mubas C H -- were arrested at Kannur railway station after they staged a black-flag protest when Veena George arrived to board the Vande Bharat Express. The case was registered on the complaint of the then minister’s gunman, who alleged that the protesters were armed with a weapon and had attacked the minister, causing an injury to her neck. The Railway Police invoked serious provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including attempt to murder, rioting with weapons and assault on a public servant.

But when the accused sought bail, the Kannur Sessions Court found little material to support the most serious allegations. In its March 12 order, the court noted that no weapon had been recovered and that the arrest records did not show that the accused were carrying weapons.

The accounts of police personnel deployed at the railway station also did not support the allegation of a weapon attack. Sub-Inspectors Prakash and Anuroop and Civil Police Officer Akhil told investigators that the KSU activists were waving black flags, raising slogans and attempting to move towards the minister. A scuffle broke out when security personnel intervened, and both the minister and her gunman were injured, according to their accounts. They did not report seeing any weapons.

CCTV footage from the railway station similarly did not show the protesters carrying or using a weapon, or coming in contact with the minister.

The medical evidence also raised questions about the original allegation. The wound certificate did not record a weapon injury on the minister, while a doctor’s statement indicated that the neck pain could have been caused by a sudden jerk.

A day after the protest, V D Satheesan, who was then the Leader of the Opposition and is now the Chief Minister, described the allegation that KSU activists had attacked Veena George as “nothing more than drama”. He also criticised then Speaker A N Shamseer, who was with Veena George at the railway station, and CPM state secretary M V Govindan for allegedly spreading a false narrative that KSU activists had pushed and pulled the minister’s arms and neck to provoke CPM workers into violence. Satheesan said Shamseer was “behaving like a former SFI member” and demanded action against Govindan. The CPM leadership had portrayed the incident as an attack on a woman minister and called for protests.

Veena George did not give her statement to the police until after the Assembly election. She recorded her statement with the Railway Police around April 16, about a week after the election.

According to reports on her statement, she told the Railway Police that she suffered the neck injury during the pushing and shoving that occurred during the protest, rather than in a weapon attack. Railway Police Inspector Sudheer Manoharan, who recorded Veena George’s statement, refused to disclose its details but did not deny the version reported by the media.
Her account differs from the statement given by her gunman, whose complaint formed the basis of the original case.

The SIT is expected to re-examine the CCTV footage, question police officers who were present at the railway station and those involved in the earlier investigation, and examine the circumstances in which the charges were framed. The statements of Veena George and her gunman are also expected to be examined. The State Police Chief had directed the SIT to submit fortnightly progress reports to the Police Headquarters.