Published May 27, 2026 | 7:03 PM ⚊ Updated May 27, 2026 | 7:03 PM
Officials said several ED personnel suffered minor injuries. A driver attached to the convoy reportedly sustained an eye injury.
Synopsis: Enforcement Directorate searches at properties belonging to CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan, his family and others in connection with the CMRL–Exalogic case triggered violent clashes between party workers and security personnel in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Seven protesters who attacked an ED convoy after officials completed a search at Vijayan’s rented residence, damaging vehicles, were arrested. The raids also triggered a war of words between the Left and the Congress.
The surprise raids launched by the Enforcement Directorate at properties belonging to Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan, his family and others across as many as 12 locations on Wednesday, 27 May, devolved into a violent confrontation between CPI(M) cadre and ED officials and security personnel.
A group of CPI(M) workers attacked vehicles carrying ED officials and security personnel after the search at Pinarayi’s rented residence near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram concluded.
Party workers had gathered outside locations searched by the ED in Kannur, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, accusing the central agency of acting at the behest of the BJP-led Centre. While protests elsewhere remained largely peaceful, tensions escalated in the state capital.
CPI(M) cadre gather outside Vijayan’s rented residence.
As ED officials emerged from the residence, protesters hurled stones, bottles and wooden planks at the ED convoy, which was protected by CRPF personnel. At least three vehicles were damaged in the attack.
Videos from the scene showed protesters surrounding the vehicles, shouting slogans and trying to block their movement. For several minutes, the convoy remained trapped as police struggled to clear the crowd.
Some protesters also snatched helmets from police personnel and hurled them at CRPF personnel stationed inside the compound.
Officials said several ED personnel suffered minor injuries. A driver attached to the convoy reportedly sustained an eye injury after shattered glass struck his face. The agency later filed a complaint with the Thampanoor police seeking action against those involved.
Protestors block the ED team from leaving.
The searches, which began on the morning of the same day, were related to the CMRL–Exalogic case, which probes alleged financial transactions between Exalogic Solutions — a firm owned by former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, T Veena — and CMRL in the alleged pay-off scam. The searches included 10 locations in Kerala and two outside the state.
Among the premises searched were Pinarayi Vijayan’s ancestral house in Kannur, his rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram, the residence of Beypore MLA and his son-in-law PA Muhammed Riyas in Kozhikode, and properties linked to CMRL Managing Director Sasidharan Kartha.
Sources said investigators also recorded Veena’s statement during the search.
Also Read: Mollywood’s AMMA and its troubled family of controversies
Soon after the clashes, tensions flared at the CPI(M) Palayam Area Committee office as Kerala Police, led by Deputy Commissioner of Police Taposh Basumatary, sought to enter the premises.
The police said some of the accused involved in the attack on the ED team were hiding inside the party office and attempted to take the suspects into custody.
However, CPI(M) workers and leaders, including V Sivankutty, V Joy and John Brittas MP, gathered at the office and initially opposed the police entry.
DIG, Thiruvananthapuram Range, Dr J Himendranath, and ADGP (Law and Order) H Venkatesh IPS arrived at the spot and held discussions with party leaders.
Soon after, some of the accused walked out and were arrested. An FIR has been registered and seven persons arrested in connection with the violence.
Addressing party workers after the search, Pinarayi Vijayan accused the BJP of using central agencies to target political opponents.
Pinarayi Vijayan greets supporters after the raid.
He said neither he nor the CPI(M) would be intimidated by what he described as a politically motivated campaign.
“No one should think that such measures can weaken us,” he said, adding that the party had faced many political battles in the past and had always overcome them with the support of its workers and the public.
He also criticised the Congress, alleging that it had remained silent when political opponents were targeted.
According to the ED, the search was carried out under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The agency said its team searched Pinarayi’s Kannur residence in the presence of a caretaker and found no incriminating documents or electronic devices.
It further said the operation was conducted peacefully and that no material was seized. The agency also stated that there was no damage to property and no untoward incident during the search.
In Kozhikode, lawyers representing Muhammed Riyas’s family said ED officials informed them that nothing was recovered during the search there either.
The CPI(M) and the CPI alleged that the searches were an attempt to target Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left. At the same time, the CPI(M) maintained that it had no objection to any genuine investigation into the CMRL matter.
Drawing parallels with cases involving AAP chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the CPI(M), in a statement issued on Wednesday, accused the BJP of following a familiar pattern of using investigative agencies against its rivals.
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby leads a protest march against the ED raid in Kerala.
The party also said the timing of the searches was curious, coming days after Chief Minister VD Satheesan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, among others, implying that the ruling Congress in the state was indirectly helping the BJP’s political agenda.
Similarly, the CPI asked whether the Congress still stood by its repeated criticism of the ED’s functioning.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, however, dismissed the accusations, saying neither the Kerala Police nor the state government had prior information about the ED operation, nor had the central agency sought any assistance from the Kerala Police.
Chennithala said he had spoken to the State Police Chief and the Home Secretary, and both had confirmed the same.
He also said the meetings between Satheesan, the newly elected Chief Minister, and the Prime Minister were routine and had nothing to do with the searches.
He accused the CPI(M) of trying to divert attention from the investigation and countered with allegations about its alleged political understanding with the BJP in the past.
Several Opposition leaders across the country condemned the ED raids against Pinarayi Vijayan’s residence.
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader MK Stalin alleged the raids were the latest in a pattern of central agencies being deployed against Opposition leaders.
“Strongly condemn the Enforcement Directorate raids directed against former Kerala Chief Minister Com. Pinarayi Vijayan. Such actions once again raise serious concerns over the growing pattern of central agencies being weaponised against Opposition leaders,” he wrote in a post on X.
Notably, Stalin also took a swipe at former ally Congress, saying the raid undercut allegations repeatedly raised by some Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, over why Vijayan had “not yet been targeted by the BJP”.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav similarly described the raid as an act of “political malice and revenge”.
The ED raid against former Kerala CM @pinarayivijayan is yet another blatant misuse of central agencies by the BJP to target regional opposition parties and undermine democracy.
ED’s immediate raid after Congress started complaining about ‘inaction’, raises questions on the…
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 27, 2026
He also accused the ruling party of elevating individuals facing corruption allegations to high office, and questioned how many Opposition leaders who had faced raids, investigations and summons later joined the BJP and were subsequently declared clean.
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was himself discharged by a Delhi court in a case linked to the excise policy investigation pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation, called the ED action another example of central agencies being used against regional political forces.
“The ED raid against former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan is yet another blatant misuse of central agencies by the BJP to target regional opposition parties and undermine democracy,” Kejriwal said.
“ED’s immediate raid after Congress started complaining about ‘inaction’ raises questions about the BJP-Congress relationship.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
