The Crime Branch (CB) has arrested BJP leader and councillor V.G. Girikumar for allegedly plotting the firebombing of the ashram of Sandeepananda Giri, a spiritual speaker and staunch Sangh Parivar critic, at the peak of the Sabarimala agitation in 2018.
The CB produced Mr. Girikumar in court on Tuesday and remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. His arrest prompted BJP workers to march to the Secretariat in protest against the “CPI(M)-sponsored political hit-job” against the party’s PTP Nagar councillor.
BJP district president V.V. Rajesh said the government had wreaked political vendetta against Mr. Girikumar for exposing the CPI(M) ‘s attempt to stage backdoor appointments at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. He alleged that the CB had acted as the CPI(M) ‘s catspaw.
