Police file cases after Thiruvananthapuram council clash

Police in Thiruvananthapuram have filed cases against Mayor V.V. Rajesh and multiple councillors from both the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) following a violent clash at the City Corporation office on Thursday, June 25. The altercation left several officials injured and has ignited a fierce political dispute in the Kerala capital.

The Museum Police registered cross-cases on Friday based on complaints from both factions. A case filed by CPM councillor Sindhu Sasi names Mayor Rajesh, Deputy Mayor Asha Nath, and several BJP councillors. A counter-complaint by BJP councillor Sruthy S.S. names multiple CPM councillors. The charges include unlawful assembly, rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult, and wrongful restraint under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The clash erupted when CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) councillors, who had been staging a protest since morning, blocked Mayor Rajesh and his BJP colleagues from entering the Mayor's official chamber. Tensions escalated into a physical scuffle involving pushing and shoving. Mayor Rajesh suffered a leg injury, a CPM councillor sustained a head injury requiring stitches, and several other...