The Keralam Police registered a zero FIR after NSUI activist Athira Vijayan's alleged assault during a Delhi protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The case will be transferred to Delhi, highlighting nationwide jurisdiction under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred at Connaught Place in Delhi on October 13 during a flash protest by the NSUI. (File photo)
Thiruvnanthapuram,Oct 15, 2026 11:34 IST
The Keralam Police on Thursday registered a zero FIR over the alleged assault of National Students' Union of India (NSUI) activist Athira Vijayan during a protest in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise.
The case was registered after Vijayan complained to the Keralam state police chief. Officials said the investigation would be transferred to the police station concerned in Delhi, where the alleged incident took place.
A zero FIR can be registered at any police station, irrespective of where an alleged crime occurred. The case was registered at the Museum police station in Thiruvananthapuram.
According to the FIR, the incident occurred at Connaught Place in Delhi on October 13 during a flash protest by the NSUI. The case includes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to assault on a woman with intent to outrage her modesty, an attempt to disrobe a woman, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, verbal abuse and criminal intimidation.
Officials said the FIR did not name any police personnel or others as accused.
The FIR said Vijayan and other activists were taken by bus to Connaught Place, where they were allegedly dragged out onto the street. It also alleged that attempts were made to tear her clothes.
Near the Connaught Place police station, the accused allegedly struck Vijayan on the face, forcibly held her arms behind her back, kicked her in the private parts and lower abdomen, and tried to snatch her phone, the FIR said.
"When she resisted this, they tightened the shawl she was wearing around her neck and threatened to kill her. By acting in concert, actively encouraging, and assisting one another, the accused caused injury to the complainant's neck through constriction with a shawl, necessitating hospital treatment, and inflicted humiliation and mental distress upon her, thereby committing the offences under the aforementioned sections," the FIR alleged.
Vijayan had earlier alleged that Delhi Police did not register a case despite her complaint. Kerala Police said the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita allowed a case to be registered anywhere in the country, regardless of where the incident occurred.
The case was registered in Keralam amid a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau probe into corruption allegations linked to the KSTP road project and the death of a Malaysian contractor associated with it in 2006, when Gyanesh Kumar was serving as the state's Public Works Department secretary.
- Ends