FIRs filed against former Kerala minister, his wife

Thiruvananthapuram: An FIR was on Tuesday filed against former Kerala minister KB Ganesh Kumar before a local court in connection with a domestic violence charge made by his wife, hours after he was forced to quit the ministry. Acting on Kumar’s complaint against his wife Yamini alleging assault, a separate FIR was also filed against her in the same Chief Judicial Magistrate court. Kumar had been charged under IPC sections 498(a) (harassment of woman), Sec 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint), while Yamini had been charged with assault causing injury (324) and intimidation (506). [caption id=“attachment_683424” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  Former Kerala minister KB Ganesh Kumar.[/caption] Police, however, did not consider the demand from Kumar and Yamini that cases for attempt to murder be registered against each other. Sources said both complaints would be probed by a Crime Branch team, led by senior IPS officer Uma Behra. Meanwhile, the resignation of Kumar, the lone MLA of Kerla Congress(B), fuelled speculation that a Congress nominee would be occupying the cabinet vacancy. Though neither Congress nor UDF has begun formal talks on the issue, names that figured as possible candidates for the cabinet berth included K Muraleedharan, a former KPCC chief and son of late leader K Karunakaran, K Sivadasan Nair from Pathanamthitta and a comparatively younger face V D Satheesan from Paravoor. LDF kept the issue alive with its youth outfits staging protest demonstrations, demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on moral grounds in view of the developments. PTI