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The High Court of Kerala granted bail to 4 more Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) workers who were accused of attacking Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials following a search operation at the residence of former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
On Monday, the court had granted bail to 9 accused people in the same case. On May 27th, when the ED team was leaving the premises of Vijayan's residence after the search on an ongoing investigation about financial transactions between Vijayan's daughter Veena Thaikkandiyil's IT firm and Exalogic Solutions - Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL). According to Prosecution, convoy of the ED Officials where intercepted by about 300 people attacking with stones and sticks, resulting in injuries to personnel and property. The bail conditions deny the accused from leaving the state without prior court approval, refrain from entering local police jurisdictional limits and demand to execute solvent sureties also. The Kerala High Court, on Monday, hearing the bail petitions, Justice Kauser Edappagath observed that while the allegations against the accused are serious and cannot be justified, continued detention was unnecessary given the progress of the investigation and their lack of prior criminal records. Highlighting the delay in police proceedings, Justice Edappagath noted that, "Even after 67 days, the police have not recovered the weapon used for the attack. I understand there is prima facie material; the allegation is very serious and cannot be justified, and the act has to be condemned. But still, they have been in custody for the last 67 days, the investigation is almost over, and nobody has any criminal antecedents." The central agency strongly opposed the bail pleas, arguing that the attack was a pre-planned conspiracy to intimidate officers and disrupt an ongoing probe, stating, "The attack was not a result of sudden provocation; it was a planned act to deter officials from performing their duty." Conversely, the defence counsel argued that the arrests failed to follow proper procedures and that Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for attempt to murder was improperly applied based merely on media footage without adequate physical evidence. The petitioners--including Kiran PS, Jeevan, Anil Kumar, Sreejith, Nishad, Sidharth S, Shefeek, Nandhu GR, and Rahul A Rajan--moved the High Court after their bail applications were previously turned down twice by the Thiruvananthapuram District and Sessions Court. (ANI)
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