Kochi: Excise team assaulted in Thammanam; four held, suspect freed from custody

An Excise operation in Thammanam, Kochi, on the night of Independence Day ended in violence after a suspect was allegedly freed from the custody of officers and three civil Excise personnel were injured, officials said on Monday.

Incident and injuries

According to statements provided by the Ernakulam Excise Range, the team carried out the operation after receiving information that about 200 grams of MDMA had been brought from Delhi and may have been concealed at a duck farm in the Thammanam area. The officials were conducting inquiries in plain clothes when they detained a man identified as Akshay Kumar earlier in the course of the operation.

While probing leads, the team intercepted another person, named in complaints as Vaishakh, who arrived on a motorcycle. The Excise officers alleged that Vaishakh pushed them and attempted to flee. In the ensuing confrontation, relatives, friends and local residents are alleged to have converged on the scene, surrounded the officials, verbally abused them and resorted to physical assault, the Range reported.

Three Excise personnel — Civil Excise Officer Shiyas, driver Vishnukumar and Woman Civil Excise Officer Kanaka — sustained injuries and sought treatment at a hospital, according to medical reports submitted during further legal processing.

Suspect freed; arrests and search

Amid the commotion, the group allegedly helped remove Vaishakh from the custody of the Excise team and sheltered him in a nearby house, from where he was later provided an opportunity to escape, the Excise complaint said. The Palarivattom police reached the location after being alerted and brought the situation under control.

Four persons — Akhil (Akhil Joseph), Vishal (Vishal Rajesh), Ajith A and Abin Antony — have been arrested by Palarivattom police in connection with the assault and for allegedly obstructing public servants from discharging their duties, official records show. Medical examinations were conducted on the detained persons before they were handed over to police custody.

Police said they have intensified efforts to trace Vaishakh and another man identified as Vishal (a resident of A.K.G. Nagar), who are alleged to have fled from the spot. The excise team's complaint has been registered with Palarivattom police and the matter remains under investigation.

• Operation: Excise team acting on information about MDMA arrival from Delhi.
• Injured: Three Excise personnel — Shiyas, Vishnukumar and Kanaka — hospitalised for treatment.
• Arrests: Four persons taken into custody; further searches are on to locate the man freed from custody.

Law-and-order context

The incident underlines local enforcement challenges when raids intersect with community responses. Excise officials said the operation was part of wider efforts to disrupt supply chains bringing synthetic drugs into the city. The seizure of methamphetamine from Akshay and statements he gave during questioning led the team to believe additional contraband was held by Vaishakh, prompting the follow-up action in AKG Nagar Colony.

"The officers were obstructed while attempting to carry out a lawful search and an accused was forcibly removed from their custody," the excise range report said, summarising the sequence of events as recorded by the team.

Police and Excise authorities have appealed for calm in the area and asked anyone with information on the whereabouts of the remaining suspects to approach Palarivattom police station. Investigating agencies will examine CCTV and witness statements as part of the ongoing probe, officials added.

The case will be processed through the criminal justice system following the formal investigation by Palarivattom police and evidence collection by Excise officials.