The Crime Branch sprung a surprise when it sought permission for further probe in the Legislative Assembly ruckus of 2015 involving six Left Democratic Front (LDF) leaders including a Minister at the Thiruvananthapuram Chief Judicial Magistrate Court on Tuesday.
The move comes at a time when the court was set to announce the commencement of the trial in the case.
Crime Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajeev who is spearheading the investigation submitted the petition that is perceived by various quarters as a delaying tactic to prolong legal proceedings in the case.
The high-profile case involves Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener E.P. Jayarajan, General Education Minister V. Sivankutty, K.T. Jaleel, MLA, C.K. Sadasivan, K. Kunhammad and K. Ajith who have been named accused in the chargesheet.
The prosecution case is that the accused persons, who were all LDF legislators in the Opposition, had unleashed pandemonium in the Assembly on March 13, 2015, to prevent the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the Budget. Mani’s alleged involvement in the bar bribery case had triggered the Opposition protest. Public property worth over ₹2 lakh had been damaged in the clash, according to police estimates.
Gaps flagged
Notably, the police have raised the demand for further probe after having submitted the chargesheet. The investigation team flagged various gaps in the investigation. For one, it claimed the chargesheet named only nine witnesses, while the police had received many more wound certificates.
Citing such issues, the police requested the court not to initiate the trial until a supplementary chargesheet is filed. While the court questioned the logic behind seemingly confirming the possibility of a supplementary chargesheet without gathering new evidence, the investigation team submitted it would furnish a fresh petition seeking permission for further probe.
