Nava Kerala Sadas assault: Accused cops seek anticipatory bail as ADGP MR Ajith Kumar faces heat

Apprehending immediate arrest after being formally named as accused, two security personnel guarding former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have approached the court seeking anticipatory bail.

Concurrently, ADGP MR Ajith Kumar faces severe scrutiny following revelations that he actively worked to undermine the initial police probe.

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Anticipating arrest, prime accused Anil Kumar and Sandeep have moved the Alappuzha Principal Sessions Court, seeking anticipatory bail. The court is scheduled to consider their pleas on May 26, 2026.

The newly constituted SIT submitted an interim report to the Alappuzha Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, stating that the assault on Youth Congress and KSU activists was completely unlawful and unprovoked. Video footage and eyewitness accounts proved the victims were beaten while already restrained by local police.

The report names five police personnel — the former CM’s prime gunman Anil Kumar, security officer Sandeep, and police officers Shaiju, Arun, and Vipin — as accused. The SIT is seeking the court’s permission to add three more individuals to the accused list.

The re-investigation has reportedly implicated ADGP MR Ajith Kumar, who was overseeing law and order during the initial inquiry.

According to statements given by previous handling officers to the SIT, ADGP Ajith Kumar allegedly summoned the initial investigating officer, the Alappuzha Crime Branch DySP, to his office three times to forcefully alter the case diary and clear the gunmen.

He reportedly omitted all mentions of the viral assault video in the original court reports to close the case, citing a “lack of evidence”.

The victims, current Alappuzha MLA AD Thomas and Youth Congress State Secretary Ajay Jewel Kuriakos, have demanded that a formal criminal conspiracy case be registered against the ADGP.

The Home Department is also facing heat for previously suppressing a critical report by the former Alappuzha Police Superintendent, Chaitra Teresa John. Her original report stated that the gunmen’s actions brought heavy disrepute to the police force and recommended strict punitive measures. Instead of acting on her findings, the previous administration buried the report and abruptly transferred her. Current Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has declared that strict departmental and legal actions will follow as soon as the SIT’s final report is officially forwarded to the police chief.

The Crime Branch previously cleared the gunmen. However, the new UDF government decided on Monday to re-investigate the incident, known as the “rescue operation,” in which the 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.

The incident related to the re-investigation happened on December 15, 2023, when security personnel and gunmen guarding then Chief 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.