Mayor-Driver Row: Kerala Police Imposes Non-Bailable Charges On Arya Rajendran, Her Family After Court Direction

The driver had petitioned the court, requesting an investigation into the Mayor, her husband and other co-passengers.

Kerala police registered a case against Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, her MLA husband Sachin Dev and three others over a complaint by a KSRTC driver alleging that they blocked the bus he was driving and obstructed him from performing his duty. The five members were booked under non-bailable charges on Monday. 

Upon receiving directives from a city court, the cantonment police filed the FIR. The driver had petitioned the court, requesting an investigation into the mayor, her husband, and other co-passengers in their private vehicle.

 

The police have invoked various sections, including 353 (Assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty), 447 (criminal trespass), 341 (wrongful restraint), 294 B (uttering obscene words), and 201 (tampering with evidence) of the Indian Penal Code, as per the report on PTI.

As per the FIR, the accused allegedly obstructed public transport, verbally abused the driver and passengers, and tampered with the CCTV memory card inside the bus. The driver had sought intervention from the court, stating that the police had not registered the case based on his complaint, alleging that the mayor and her family had impeded the vehicle and prevented him from fulfilling his duties.

Earlier, a case had been filed against the driver of the Kerala State Road Transport Service (KSRTC), accusing him of making sexually suggestive gestures towards the mayor and her relative during their journey in a private vehicle.

Footage showing the mayor and her family confronting the bus driver after obstructing it with their car at a signal near Palayam has circulated widely. However, the driver refuted the allegations and claimed that it was simply a matter of not giving way to their vehicle.

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission, on May 2, directed an investigation into the driver's complaint.