Veena George 'attack' case: Pariyaram doctors found no visible injuries, she was discharged on request

Kannur: Doctors who examined former Health Minister Veena George after a black flag protest by KSU activists at Kannur railway station found no visible external injuries but she reported severe neck pain radiating to her right arm and the back of her head, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said.

The SIT, headed by U Preman, Commandant of the Kerala Armed Police IV Battalion, took statements of doctors who were part of a 13-member medical board constituted to assess her condition. The SIT also recorded statements over phone from doctors who had since been transferred.

They told the SIT they had noticed swelling in her neck, prompting her admission to the intensive care unit for further examination. The doctors said she had no weapon injuries.

After the protest at Kannur railway station on the evening of February 25, she was taken to the Kannur Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram, where she remained admitted until the early hours of February 27. She then left for her home in Pathanamthitta. The doctors told the SIT that George was discharged at her own request.

The statements recorded by the SIT are in line with the medical report produced in court during the bail hearing of the five KSU activists arrested and remanded in judicial custody in the attempt-to-murder case against them. The wound certificate did not record any weapon injury, and a doctor's statement suggested that George's neck pain could have resulted from a 'sudden jerk' during the jostling, the Sessions Court noted in its bail order.

SIT chief Preman said George's statement was recorded earlier and that she had told investigators she might have sustained the injury during the pushing and shoving at the railway station. Her gunman, Abhilash M S, had backtracked on his earlier statement that he saw KSU activists carrying weapons and heard them shout "Kill her". Preman said Abhilash's initial statement, on the basis of which the Kannur Railway Police registered the FIR, was 'completely manipulated'.

Malayala Manorama reported that Abhilash had made the false statement at the behest of George.

The five KSU activists, Athul M C, Akshay V V, Bithul Balan, Ahmed Yasin and Mubas C H, spent 16 days in judicial custody before being granted bail on March 12. The case became a major political issue during the Assembly election campaign, with the CPM repeatedly portraying the incident as an attempted assassination of George and the UDF convincingly puncturing holes in the claims.

After the UDF returned to power, its government constituted the SIT on August 31 following a petition by Kannur MLA T O Mohanan seeking a detailed investigation.