Thiruvananthapuram, October 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Saturday condemned the detention of CPI-M leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in New Delhi and directed senior state officials to coordinate with Delhi Police for his immediate release.
In a social media post, Satheesan expressed deep concern over what he described as Vijayan’s arbitrary detention. The former Chief Minister was being held at Mandir Marg Police Station after being detained during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Satheesan said he had instructed Kerala Chief Secretary Bishwanath Sinha and the state’s Resident Commissioner in New Delhi, Puneet Kumar, to contact Delhi Police and coordinate the necessary steps to secure Vijayan’s release.
The intervention followed reports that Vijayan had been kept inside a police vehicle for nearly three-and-a-half hours before being taken to the police station. The prolonged detention reportedly caused physical discomfort to the veteran leader.
CPI-M MP John Brittas, who was accompanying Vijayan, alleged that police had failed to take the former Chief Minister’s age into account and had denied him food and his scheduled medication. Brittas further claimed that the police were refusing to release the detained leaders without instructions from senior authorities.
Delhi Police, however, said Vijayan and the other leaders had not been formally arrested and would be released shortly.
Vijayan had arrived in the national capital to participate in a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. CPI-M leaders and activists were preparing to march from Kerala House when police detained several party leaders and others associated with the demonstration.
Those detained included CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby, Kerala State Secretary M.V. Govindan, P.K. Sreemathi, K.K. Shailaja and Politburo member Viju Krishnan. Leaders of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) and Students’ Federation of India President Adarsh Saji were also among those taken into custody, according to the report.
The detentions prompted objections from leaders accompanying Vijayan, including former Kerala Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal and Brittas. They alleged that police had disregarded their objections while keeping the leaders in a moving vehicle for hours.
Satheesan’s intervention brought the Kerala government into direct contact with Delhi Police as concerns grew over the treatment of Vijayan and other leaders during the protest.
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