It all came to a head on 27 May 2026 in the capital when tempers ran high and windows were put in as CPI(M) partisans went after an ED vehicle in the course of their work on the Vijayan file. In the middle of this money laundering matter, the scuffle put a fine point on where the political lines are drawn in the state and what it means for law and order.
What set it off
You had the ED in 10 places in Kerala at once. They were at the door of the former CM and present Leader of Opposition, Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter and a few others.
The stage for it was made the day before: the Kerala High Court turned down a request from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited to have the ED’s hand in the matter stayed.
How it got out of hand
A crowd put in an appearance at the place where Vijayan is renting, and when an ED car was making to leave after a seven-hour job, they were in its way. Stones, eggs, bricks – the lot – were thrown, and the windshield and bodywork took a hit. Police and central men were there but had to hold the line against the push.
One of the news wires put up a clip of it. You can see the officers with their riot shields while the car, with some of their women staff in it, is being rained on with things. One of the force was hurt in the process of breaking up the crowd.
Where everyone is at
M V Govindan, the state secretary, and other old hands from the party were out on the streets and put on a sit-in close to Vijayan’s. When things were at their height, the leadership put in a word and told their people to clear out.
Vijayan sees a design to it. He put it like this: “This is only a beginning. Nobody should be under the impression we can be cowed or made weak by this.” He called it a move to go after the Opposition.
In a nutshell
Things moved in a hurry today:
– 10 spots in the state saw the ED in action
– The High Court said no to the CMRL appeal
– An ED car was pelted; the glass was in pieces
– A long, seven-hour search was put to rest
– Party men put the brakes on the protesters in the end
What they are looking into
The ED is on to a story about Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd and a Rs 1.72 crore they are said to have given Exalogic Solutions, which is in the name of T Veena, Vijayan’s daughter, back in 2018-19 for nothing. They made it a PMLA case in 2024.
They have been through the places in Thiruvananthapuram and in Pinarayi in Kannur, the IT office in Bengaluru, and the home of his son-in-law in Kozhikode, to name a few.
If you ask them, they are sifting through hard drives and the numbers to make sense of the payments. The security detail was in place for the whole of it.
Why you should be watching
What you saw on Wednesday is a sign of how touchy these corruption cases can be when they involve someone of Vijayan’s stature. The slogans you heard were as much at the BJP as the agency, and it shows the friction between the state and the Centre.
It also puts a light on the perils of the job for an official in the field. Now that the heat has died down and the work is done, it is back to the documents and the trail they are following.
