Day after Kerala MLA put on ventilator support after falling 15 feet, police register case against event organisers

The FIR was registered against Mridanga Vision, the organizer of the Bharatanatyam dance which saw 12,000 participants at the stadium, and which had constructed the makeshift stage at the stadium’s VIP gallery. It was registered under section 125 of the BNS, which deals with reckless or negligent actions that endanger the life or personal safety of others.

The state fire and rescue department said there were other serious safety lapses at the venue apart from the “lack of a strong barricade.” The organisers had allegedly not obtained prior permission to construct the stage at the VIP gallery, while the makeshift stage allegedly did not have a proper handrail or safety barricades. Instead, in front of the seats on the stage, the organisers had allegedly placed a queue manager (ribbon barricade). The MLA allegedly caught onto the queue manager without realising that it was not fixed on the stage, and fell onto a concrete floor. She was rushed to the nearby Renai Medicity Hospital, where her condition is still critical.

State minister Saji Cherian, who was at the stage, told the media that he was “under the impression” that the queue manager was firmly erected on the stage, but was “shocked to realise that it was a ribbon barricade” only after Thomas fell.

The state health department has deputed a team of doctors to review the MLA’s health condition.

Thomas became a legislator after winning the by-election in 2022 that was necessitated by the death of her husband and Congress leader P T Thomas. She represents the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency.