In a major development in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case, a local court on Wednesday exonerated 20 accused, including CPM Kannur district secretariat member Karayi Rajan.
Special Additional District and Sessions Court (Marad Cases) Judge R Narayana Pisharadi acquitted them on the ground that there was no sufficient evidence against them.
On September 4, the defence counsel contended that 24 accused in the case should be set free citing lack of evidence against them.
Besides Rajan, 56th accused SFI Kannur district president Sarin Sasi, 23rd accused CPM West Kallamala branch secretary E M Shaji, 15th accused Ajesh P aka Kajoor, 32nd accused C M Sunithan, 34th accused Suresh aka Babootty, 35th accused Shobi alias Thomas, 38th accused N Roshith, 40th accused C Rajan, 43rd accused Kumaran K, 44th accused P Valsan, 45th accused P C Lalu, 46th accused K Anilkumar, 47th accused Rageesh V, 51st accused T Shimjith, 55th accused Shyamjith, 57th accused K Asokan, 59th accused V P Shijeesh aka Nanappan, 75th accused Mukundan K K and 76th accused Dhaneesh were let off.
According to the chargesheet filed by the special investigation team, Rajan was booked under Sections 118 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), Section 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) and Section 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC.
Ajesh and Shaji were charged under Sections 118, 109 of 302 and 34 of the IPC while others were charged under Sections 201 and 212 of the IPC.
The murder on May 4, 2012 had rattled the CPM ranks and apparently caused a huge dent in the image of the party. Chandrasekheran, who was ousted in 2008 by the CPM after he became the proverbial thorn in the side of the party in Kozhikode district, had then founded another political party, the Revolutionary Marxist Party.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related news:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------