Kottayam: The Alappuzha sessions court on Tuesday granted anticipatory bail to five policemen, including the gunman of former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who are accused of assaulting KSU-Youth Congress functionaries A D Thomas, MLA, and Ajay Juval Kuriakose during the Nava Kerala Yatra.Anticipatory bail was granted to S Anil Kumar, 54, S Sandeep, 39, V K Saiju, 46, R Arun, 37, and V V Vipin, 37. Judge Honey M Varghese granted bail with strict conditions. The petitioners should appear before the Investigating officer at 10am on June 11 for interrogation and the petitioners shall be interrogated for the next two days from 10am to 4pm on every day, if required, after giving adequate intervals. If necessary, they can be taken into custody for two days.If arrested, they must be released on bail. There is an instruction that they should be released on a bond of Rs 1 lakh and two sureties. The accused must cooperate with the investigation. They must appear before the investigating officer between 10am and 11am on alternate Saturdays. This must continue until the final report in the case is submitted. They must appear whenever the investigating officer requires. They should not attempt to influence the witnesses in the case. They should not destroy evidence. They should not be involved in other criminal cases, the court said.The accused getting anticipatory bail is a setback for the special investigation team (SIT) that is reinvestigating the case.Defence lawyer B Sivadas said that bailable sections were imposed against the accused both in the private complaint filed by the complainant and in the police investigation. When the accused were ready to surrender in the Alappuzha judicial magistrate court, sections including attempt to murder were imposed as part of the move to arrest them. Although the assault on the leaders is seen in the video footage, there is no serious injury causing fatal wounds. Therefore, he said, anticipatory bail was granted in a situation where sections, including attempt to murder, do not stand.The incident that led to the case took place on Dec 15, 2023. The incident triggered controversy after the former CM justified it as a ‘rescue operation’. Police case against the officers was registered after the assaulted leaders approached the court.