Eight-month delay in chargesheet approval for YC workers' in-flight protest against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Kerala's chargesheet for attempted murder of CM Pinarayi Vijayan delayed by central government; case stems from 2022 in-flight protest by Congress workers.

Thiruvananthapuram: The chargesheet in the case of the attempted murder of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inside an aircraft has been delayed by the central government eight months after it was sent for approval. The chargesheet, which was sent for approval in April, was followed up by a reminder from the Kerala government in August. This approval is required after adding charges under the Civil Aviation Act, which requires central clearance for such cases.

The incident took place on June 13, 2022, when four Congress workers staged a protest against the Chief Minister during a flight from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram, leading to a major controversy. The accused in the case are Sabarinath, the state vice president of Congress and former MLA, along with Farzeen Majeed, Naveen Kumar, and Sunit. The charges against them include attempted murder, conspiracy, attempted culpable homicide, and intimidation.

In addition to the charges against the Youth Congress workers, a case was also filed against EP Jayarajan based on complaints from Majeed and Kumar, who were involved in the protest. The Chief Minister’s gunman, Anil Kumar, and PA Suneesh were also named in the case. The police registered these cases based on the order from the Thiruvananthapuram Judicial First Class Magistrate Court.