Mayor Arya Rajendran, MLA husband faces charges in road rage incident

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A complaint has been filed against Mayor Arya Rajendran, her husband, and four people for a recent road rage incident. On Saturday night, the Cantonment police initiated a case in response to a complaint filed by lawyer Baiju Noel.

According to the FIR, Arya Rajendran, CPI (M) MLA Sachin Dev, and three others are accused of impeding a KSRTC bus on the road, causing a traffic jam and inconveniencing the people. They are charged under several provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act, reported PTI.

Rajendran, Dev and other accused were booked under Sections 141 (unlawful assembly), 268 (public nuisance), 283 (causing obstruction in a public way), 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 201 (causing impediment to the free flow of traffic) of the Motor Vehicle Act, stated the PTI report.

Per the news agency report, the police move came after allegations that the driver of the KSRTC bus, HL Yadhu, against whom Rajendran filed a misbehaviour charge, addressed the court seeking action against the Mayor, MLA, and others engaged in the road rage incident.

On April 27, the mayor and her family got into a dispute with the KSRTC bus driver at Palayam intersection. The mayor claimed that the driver made obscene gestures to them and drove erratically, forcing their involvement to avoid a crash.

The police first arrested the motorist in response to the mayor's complaint, but he was eventually released on bond. The driver responded, accusing the mayor's vehicle of attempting to overtake the bus on the wrong side and claiming that MLA K M Sachin Dev pulled passengers off the bus after blocking it on the road, the PTI report stated.

According to the report, the driver claimed ignorance about Arya Rajendran's role as mayor and Sachin Dev's post as MLA.

The incident has sparked political controversy, with Youth Congress activists staging a protest against the mayor outside the Corporation complex, while BJP councillors boycotted a council meeting, citing this issue.