THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/PALAKKAD: Opposition leader VD Satheesan has sent a detailed complaint to Election Commission of India (ECI) on Tuesday’s midnight police raid at a Palakkad hotel, accusing the state govt of targeting Congress leaders ahead of Palakkad byelection.
He alleged that the raid was part of a larger conspiracy to influence the byelection, which he said was being conducted in an atmosphere of intimidation.
CPM state secretary MV Govindan, meanwhile, demanded a comprehensive probe into black money transactions by UDF in Palakkad. Stating that all arguments brought forth by UDF candidate Rahul Mamkoottathil were falling apart, he said all leaders suspected to be involved in such transactions should be subjected to lie tests.
In his complaint, Satheesan said the police raid appeared to be coordinated as activists of both CPM and BJP had gathered outside the hotel even before police came.
“Representatives from a CPM-run TV channel were also present at the scene before the raid began, further proving that the entire incident was pre-planned,” he wrote.
Senior district officials were not present during raid: Cong
According to him, police did not take the standard precautions, such as securing the gates or hotel entrances, thereby allowing political activists to enter the premises, leading to chaos and a risk of confrontation.
He said women Congress leaders Shanimol Osman and Bindu Krishna were subjected to room searches in the absence of woman police personnel initially. It was only after Shanimol protested and demanded the presence of female officers that they were brought in, but this occurred hours later.
“The blatant dis regard for legal procedures under BNS by police is concerning,” he said.
Satheesan also alleged that senior district officials were not present during the raid. The search began around midnight, but the additional district magistrate (ADM) and revenue divisional officer (RDO) arrived only at 2.30 am, despite regulations requiring their presence in such operations. He said the ADM also reportedly told Congress MP Shafi Parambil that he was not informed about the search beforehand.
The complaint also alleged irregularities in docu mentation issued following the search. Rather than issuing the routine wording of “nothing objectionable found” or “no unaccounted money found,” police reportedly issued receipts stating “nothing including money was found”.
He also accused police of seizing CCTV footage from the hotel on Wednesday and handing it over to CPM, which was subsequently leaked to the media.
“The release of this footage was a calculated move by the ruling party to generate a false narrative and deflect attention from the botched raid,” he alleged.
