Midnight police raid over black money sparks political row ahead of Palakkad by-poll
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Around midnight, the police conducted searches, including in the hotel rooms where prominent women politicians from the Congress, such as Bindu Krishna and Shanimol Usman, were staying. The incident occurred as the Congress-UDF is working hard to retain its sitting constituency, while the ruling CPI (M)-led LDF and the BJP-NDA are making every effort to wrest the seat from the grand old party.
The Congress leadership, vehemently protesting the police action, alleged that it was a «midnight police drama» jointly orchestrated by the BJP and the CPI (M) due to their fear of a potential poll debacle. However, the Marxist party and the BJP rejected the allegations and accused the Congress of «distributing» large amounts of black money to secure a victory in the crucial by-election.
Later in the day, a senior police officer told media that the raids were carried out on the basis of prior information. The dramatic scenes unfolded when a police team attempted to enter the room of Bindu Krishna and Shanimol Usman as part of a search around midnight. Usman objected to the search due to the absence of female officers. Congress supporters, upon learning about the raid, gathered in large numbers on the hotel premises, protesting against the police action.
Tension prevailed in the area as local leaders and workers of the CPI (M) and BJP also arrived at the hotel, accusing the
