Shashi Tharoor’s convoy blocked on narrow road in Kerala’s Malappuram, gunman attacked; one held

Police say a roadblock near a narrow bridge led to a confrontation during Tharoor’s campaign travel, resulting in an assault on his security staff and a late-night detention.

Shashi Tharoor’s convoy blocked on narrow road in Kerala’s Malappuram, gunman attacked; one held

File Photo: IANS

A member of Indian National Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s security team and his driver were allegedly assaulted by a group of five people in Kerala’s Wandoor area, police said on Saturday.

One person has been taken into custody.

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The incident took place on Friday evening when Tharoor was travelling to attend a poll campaign event of Congress leader AP Anilkumar. Police said the situation escalated after the MP’s convoy was stopped on a narrow road.

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What police say happened

According to Wandoor Police, the case has been registered based on a complaint filed by Tharoor’s gunman, Ratheesh KP. As per the FIR, the incident occurred around 7.30 pm near Chellithode, close to Thiruvali.

Police said the accused were travelling in two vehicles and blocked the MP’s car near a bridge where traffic movement was already restricted due to a bottleneck. When the gunman stepped in to manage the situation and requested the vehicle ahead to move, he and the driver were allegedly attacked.

One suspect was detained late on Friday night. Police said the other accused have been identified and will be arrested soon.

In a post on X, Tharoor said he was “untouched” in the incident and that his security guard was safe.

“Truly touched by all the messages and calls expressing concern about the untoward incident last night when my security guard was attacked. He is well and I was untouched. Thank you to all friends and well-wishers. We carried on undaunted yesterday and concluded two more events as planned. And our ongoing programme remains unaffected,” he said.

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