SIT to re-investigate ‘rescue operation’ against Nava Kerala Sadas protestors

The Kerala Police constituted a six-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), led by Alappuzha Crime Branch Superintendent of Police(SP) A.P. Shoukathali, to re-investigate the ‘rescue operation’ that took place in Alappuzha during the Nava Kerala Sadas
The new UDF government decided on Monday to re-investigate the incident, known as the “rescue operation,” in which then chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s gunmen surrounded and attacked KSU and Youth Congress workers protesting in Alappuzha during the controversial ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ under the LDF government.

Kerala Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar issued orders constituting the SIT a day after Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan assured that a SIT would be formed to probe the incident based on the court order. The team has been asked to complete the investigation within one month, while the head of the SIT should submit the progress report of the probe every fortnight.

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Baiju Poulose, Crime Branch DySP, Ernakulam Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) , who had probed the sensational actress assault case,will be the investigating officer
The team head, SP A.P. Shoukathali, played a pivotal role in the investigation of the T P Chandrasekharan murder case. He arrested former CPM Kozhikode district secretary P Mohanan for allegedly orchestrating the TP Murder. He also led the operation to nab Kodi Suni and two others, who were hiding in a party bastion after committing the murder.

The incident related to the re-investigation happened on December 15, 2023 when security personnel and gunmen guarding thenChief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan brutally assaulted Kerala Students Union (KSU) and Youth Congress activists. The activists were waving black flags at the Nava Kerala Sadas bus in Alappuzha.

The previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government heavily defended the security team’s actions, controversially labelling the severe physical beating as a “rescue operation”. Prominent youth leaders including KSU District President A.D. Thomas and Youth Congress State Secretary Ajay Jewel Kuriakose were badly injured. Notably, A.D. Thomas has since been elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing the Alappuzha constituency in the 2026 elections

Reports indicate the then Chief Minister’s bus had already passed the spot where the protesters were standing. Local police officers had already intercepted the protesters and were in the process of removing them. Despite the local police bringing the situation under control, the Chief Minister’s personal security personnel intervened aggressively from the scene.

Chief Gunman Anil Kumar and security officer S. Sandeep exited their escort vehicle, which was following the main bus. They were armed with lathis and according to some allegations, improvised weapons like a flower pot were also used during the scuffle. One report notes the gunman used a stick that was hidden in the escort vehicle
The “rescue operation,” as it was controversially termed by the former government, was executed not by the security personnel inside the Chief Minister’s bus, but by gunmen who leaped out of a trailing escort vehicle to beat protesters who had already been restrained by local police.

Though the Alappuzha Magistrate Court had ordered a re-investigation on November 8, 2024—rejecting a Crime Branch report clearing the accused gunmen—the previous administration left the file untouched