Knife-wielding man forcibly enters Kerala House when CM Vijayan was inside

IE

New Delhi, 04 Aug 2018: In a major security lapse, a knife-wielding man forcibly tried to enter Kerala House in Jantar Mantar while state Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was inside. Police said the man was mentally unstable and has been sent to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences’ in Shahdara.

 

In a video released by news agency ANI, the man, who was later identified as Vimal Raj, is seen carrying sheets of paper, a knife, and the national flag. Clad in white, Raj is seen shouting at the security guards, asking them to stay away. “I do not want anything from the CM,” he is heard saying.

 

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Madhur Verma said, “The incident occurred at around 10 am after which the security staff informed the police about it. The man was identified as Vimal Raj (46), a native of Kerala’s Karippuzha.”

 

According to police, Raj appeared to be mentally unstable. “The medical documents he was carrying have suggested that he is 80 per cent mentally unsound. He is now being sent to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IBHAS), Shahdara as per the law,” the DCP said.

 

Condemning the incident, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor said “there should be no place for knives, guns or mob lynchers” in the country. Taking to Twitter, he said, “Just spoke to Pinarayi Vijayan to express my concern over the attempted assault on him in Delhi. The politics of violence must end in India. I call on @PMOIndia to send a strong message to all that in our democracy there is no place for knives, guns or mob-lynchers.”