The 30-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials outside the Thiruvananthapuram residence of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has officially recorded the statements of seven ED officers, including Assistant Director Sanith Reddy.
The SIT team reached the ED office in Kochi on Tuesday and recorded their statements. The ED officials informed investigators that they suspect the incident was a preplanned attack rather than a spontaneous eruption of public violence.
The officials also informed the SIT that several senior party leaders who participated in the protest may have played a role in the circumstances that led to the violence.
Meanwhile, ED sources expressed apprehension about whether local state authorities will handle the case effectively, noting that several public prosecutors were appointed under the previous state administration.
A local court recently rejected the bail pleas of five arrested accused, backing the ED’s stance by observing that the public assault on central officers was not an isolated attack but an organized political attack on an institution.
The police have identified 46 individuals linked to the incident, and 26 suspects have been arrested so far. The SIT has decided to scrutinize the mobile phone records, call logs, and text messages of the direct participants to map out who orchestrated the violence.
The Thiruvananthapuram City Police Commissioner constituted the 30-member team on May 30. It functions under the direct supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Cantonment Sub-Division.
The case is registered under stringent provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3(1) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act.
The confrontation took place on May 27, 2026, outside the Thiruvananthapuram residence of former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. An ED team was targeted by alleged CPM workers throwing bricks and smashing vehicle windows with sticks following a 7-hour search operation. The raid was tied to a money laundering investigation involving the CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case.
Senior ED officials in Kochi have submitted a detailed report to the agency’s director. The ED is currently expected to push for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the broader conspiracy.