Five KSU activists arrested for assault on Kerala Health Minister Veena George in Kannur
Kerala Health Minister Veena George has been shifted to the Kannur Government Medical College after she sustained injuries on her neck following an alleged assault during a KSU protest at the city's railway station.
The Kerala Police has arrested five activists of the Kerala Student's Union (KSU) in connection with their involvement in the alleged assault on state Health Minister Veena George, said officials on Thursday. The accused will be handed over to the Kannur Railway Police, as the assault had taken place within the premises of the Kannur Railway Station.
George was allegedly assaulted by the KSU activists on Wednesday, while she had reached the Kannur Railway Station to board the Vande Bharat Express. The KSU activists, the student wing of Congress, were protesting over alleged negligence of government hospitals in the southern state.
FIR registered, probe underway
Following the incident, a first information report (FIR) was registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Railway Act, including provisions related to attempt to murder, by the Kannur Railway Police. As per the details of the FIR, the five KSU activists had an intention to commit a crime and had entered the railway station with a weapon. They were also raising slogans against George.
During their protest, they attacked George around her neck with a weapon. When the health minister's bodyguard tried to intervene, he was allegedly attacked and restrained. The FIR stated that the five activists even tried to stop the minister from performing her duties.
George in hospital; Congress denies charge
George remains in the hospital, with doctors saying that her condition is stable. Meanwhile, the KSU and the Congress have denied the charges that were leveled against them. On the other hand, the Left Democratic Alliance-led Kerala government has called the assault a "planned attack", with many ministers saying it was "undemocratic and unparliamentary".
"The Congress and its youth organisations are going after ministers and deliberately creating provocations. Kerala is moving forward as a model for the entire country in the health sector. Yet, it is the Minister of that very department who is facing such injustice. The approach of the Congress youth organisations is uncivilised and aggressive. The people of Kerala will respond against it," Kerala Minister J Chinchu Rani was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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