Doctors who examined former Kerala Health Minister Veena George following a black flag protest by KSU activists at Kannur railway station found no visible external or weapon injuries, though she complained of severe neck pain radiating to her right arm and the back of her head, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) said.
The SIT, headed by U Preman, Commandant of the Kerala Armed Police IV Battalion, recorded statements from doctors on a 13-member medical board. They reported swelling in George’s neck, which prompted her admission to the intensive care unit for further examination. She was admitted to Kannur Government Medical College Hospital at Pariyaram on February 25 and discharged at her own request in the early hours of February 27.
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The medical findings are in line with the report presented during the bail hearing of five KSU activists arrested in the attempt-to-murder case. The Sessions Court had noted that the wound certificate recorded no weapon injuries and cited a doctor’s observation that her neck pain could have resulted from a “sudden jerk” during the jostling.
SIT chief Preman said George had told investigators she might have been injured during the pushing and shoving. Her gunman, Abhilash M S, also withdrew his earlier claim that protesters carried weapons and shouted “Kill her”. Preman described his initial statement, which led to the FIR, as “completely manipulated”. Malayala Manorama reported that Abhilash had made the statement at George’s behest.
The five accused — Athul M C, Akshay V V, Bithul Balan, Ahmed Yasin and Mubas C H — spent 16 days in judicial custody before being granted bail on March 12. The case became a major political issue during the Assembly election campaign, with the CPI(M) describing the incident as an attempted assassination and the UDF challenging that account.
After the UDF returned to power, the state government constituted the SIT on August 31 following a petition by Kannur MLA T O Mohanan seeking a detailed investigation.
