Nava Kerala Yatra assault: Additional probe report puts ex-ADGP under scanner

Kottayam: The special investigation team (SIT) probing the assault on KSU and Youth Congress members during the Nava Kerala Yatra submitted an additional report to the Alappuzha district and sessions court on Saturday.The additional report puts the office of the then ADGP (law and order) under the scanner.In the first part of the report, the SIT explains how Section 308 of IPC (attempt to murder) was incorporated, laying down points to substantiate that it was not “sudden or mechanical.”The report also states that the deputy commandant (security), state special branch, has stated that the authorized personal weapons of the PSO and escort personnel were small arms officially issued to them — and that no lathis were issued to the escort team. The presence of a large wooden lathi in the hands of the accused therefore assumes significance and requires further investigation to ascertain its source, purpose and whether it was procured in furtherance of a common intention, the report states.On the authenticity of the visuals, the SIT notes that the mobile phone of Jojimon, a TV news channel cameraman who captured the incident, was seized and produced before court. A forensic report confirmed no signs of editing, alteration or tampering in the video file. A separate video recorded by a shop owner in the area shows Jojimon filming the incident and corroborates the cameraman’s footage.However, the refer report filed before the court stated that the visual footage was obtained from the police photographer. Further investigation revealed that the materials recorded by the police photographer contained only events that occurred after the incident and did not depict the actual occurrence.The most significant finding concerns the role of the office of the then ADGP (law and order). The previous investigating officer and other witnesses have stated that the refer report was prepared at that office. The SIT is investigating how contradictory facts came to be incorporated into it.The SIT also recorded the statement of Sunilraj, the then investigating officer and DSP, district crime branch, who filed the refer report. His account of the circumstances under which it was finalised is corroborated by statements from staff attached to the then ADGP’s office and other witnesses, says the report.The SIT is now examining whether the alleged false statement regarding the police photographer’s footage was deliberately incorporated into the refer report to create a false narrative or to shield the accused from legal consequences.