The Kerala police came under fire after the attack on ED officials during a raid at former CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence.

In the wake of Wednesday’s incident, allegations of serious failures by the intelligence and security services dominated Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN

The Kerala Police has come under intense scrutiny following a violent attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials during a raid at former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. In the aftermath of the incident, allegations of serious failures by the intelligence and security services dominated.

The Thiruvananthapuram city police have so far arrested eight CPI(M) and DYFI workers in connection with the attack. Around 15 people have been identified through television footage, CCTV images and intelligence inputs. One accused was nabbed from Kottayam after he allegedly fled from Thiruvananthapuram.

Police teams conducted searches at nearly 40 places, including the residences of former Thiruvananthapuram Corporation councilors and other party workers suspected of involvement in the attack.

The museum police registers two cases in connection with the violence. The first registered against “300 identifiable persons” includes charges related to attempted murder, unlawful assembly, destruction of property and assault on officials, while the second was registered for allegedly assaulting police personnel during the clash.

The state government has launched an investigation into alleged failings by police in anticipating violence and whether crowd control measures were inadequate. The controversy escalated after Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala summoned senior police and intelligence officials for a high-level meeting on Thursday.

The Minister held a nearly 45-minute meeting with State Superintendent of Police Ravada A. Chandrasekhar, ADGP (Intelligence) P. Vijayan and Adviser to Home Secretary A. Hemachandran to review the sequence of events and check allegations of security lapses.

Mr. Chandrasekhar, who later communicated with the mediators, said that the police had deployed enough personnel and claimed that about 300 policemen were present in connection with the operation. He said the ED raid was conducted independently by the central agency and claimed that the police had not received any specific request for additional security measures.

However, he admitted that the incident would be thoroughly investigated and added that action would be taken if any lapses were found.

Published – 28 May 2026 15:01 IST