Congress Urges IndiGo To Conduct Fair Probe On Kerala Flight Protest

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan on Thursday petitioned the management of the IndiGo airlines against a report submitted by its employee on the recent protest by two Youth Congress activists against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on board its aircraft, alleging it was "fake, frivolous and conspicuous".

He also demanded that a thorough investigation be conducted into the incident to bring out the truth.

In a letter to Varun Dwivedi, Associate Vice President, Inter Globe Aviation Ltd (IndiGO Airlines), the senior Congress leader alleged that the details of the report, submitted to the local police, were in stark contrast to the statements given by the fellow passengers, including the LDF Convenor E P Jayarajan, a witness to the incident.

Jayarajan, who accompanied the CM in the flight, had told the media that the YC workers had raised slogans against Chief Minister Vijayan seeking his resignation after he alighted from the aircraft, V D Satheesan pointed out.

Besides, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had also categorically stated that the incident took place after the CM de-boarded.

However, the report filed by the IndiGO airport manager is learnt to have alleged that the protesters attacked the CM, the leader claimed in the letter.

"As per the information available in public domain, the report given by the Airport Manager to the Station House Officer (SHO), Valiyathura police station, is fake, frivolous and conspicuous," Satheesan said.

The letter also pointed out that the report failed to mention the name of Jayarajan, who "brutally manhandled" the protestors, which was aired in all TV channels with clear video coverage.

Though Jayarajan is a known figure in the state, the report is said to have mentioned that "a man accompanying the CM had allegedly pushed the two away." "To omit his name from the report itself raises serious doubts on the probity of the officer, who is learned to be hailing from Kannur, under political pressure and influence from higher officials from police, CPI(M) leaders and CMO," he alleged.

In view of this, VD Satheesan requested Dwivedi to conduct a fair probe into the issue and submit a "truthful report" to the investigating agencies and the GDCA.

The Youth Congress activists had protested against the CM aboard the flight bound to Thiruvananthapuram, demanding his resignation over allegations made against him by gold smuggling case accused Swapna Suresh.