The Kerala Police on Sunday registered a case against Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi for allegedly misusing an ambulance to arrive at the venue of the Thrissur Pooram festival in April, reported PTI.
Along with Gopi, a person identified as Abhijit Nair who was with the minister in the ambulance and its driver were also booked.
Gopi is the Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Thrissur.
The case was registered on a complaint by advocate Sumesh Bhavadasan, who alleged that Gopi and others misused the ambulance as part of a Lok Sabha election campaign strategy and drove it through a busy street in Thrissur on the night of the festival, reported The Indian Express.
The three were booked under Indian Penal Code sections pertaining to rash or negligent driving on a public way (279) and liabilities for a criminal act (34). They were also charged under the Motor Vehicle Act.
On April 19, a political row erupted as a few events of the Pooram festival were abandoned mid-way due to restrictions imposed by the police for crowd management. A firework display, one of the major attractions of the festival, was held in daylight after Gopi arrived at the spot and held discussions with the temple authorities early on the morning of April 20.
This led to allegations by the state’s Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front that there were efforts to sabotage the festival to benefit the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls due days later.
On October 3, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced a three-level probe into the matter, stating that the delay in the firework display was “planned” with an eye on the general elections, according to The Indian Express.
“On matters related to the Pooram, it is clear that there were attempts to torpedo the social environment in the state,” Vijayan had said. “It was planned with a clear aim.”
On October 28, Gopi challenged the state’s Left Democratic Front government to initiate a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter. He denied that he had used an ambulance to arrive at the venue.
“I reached the Pooram venue in the BJP district president’s car,” said Gopi at the party’s campaign meeting for the Chelakkara Assembly bye-poll. “Pinarayi’s police won’t be able to find out the truth.”
However, he later admitted to using the ambulance.
“I had difficulty walking through the crowd because of my leg pain,” The Hindu quoted him as saying on October 31. “Some young people, with no political agenda, helped me into the ambulance.”
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