THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Attingal MP Adoor Prakash, who found his party seniors rallying behind him on Wednesday, alleged that DYFI state secretary A A Rahim was present at the Venjaramoodu police station at 2.45am on Monday when officers were recording the statement of Shaheen, who was with the victims at the time of the murder.Demanding a CBI probe into the murders, Prakash said Thiruvananthapuram rural SP B Ashokan is a ‘CPM loyalist’ and that “justice cannot be expected when the case is being probed by an officer who has close links with the ruling front,” he said.
He added that only an investigation by the Central agency can uncover the motive behind the murders. “The CBI probe will bring out the truth behind the incident. What actually triggered the fight between the youths should also be investigated. Let me reiterate. There must be a probe on Vamanapuram MLA D K Murali’s son who is also involved in the incident,” Prakash said.He told TNIE that the allegations regarding his involvement have not affected him as his conscience was clear.
Refuting the allegations, Rahim said his visit to the police station was a normal procedure after his colleagues’ tragic deaths. He claimed Prakash was trying to wriggle out of the controversy after his links to the murder accused has been exposed. CPM MLA Murali too dismissed the allegations. He challenged Prakash to prove his claims or face legal repercussions. Meanwhile, KPCC leaders rallied behind Prakash and said the CPM was trying to use the case to regain the ground they lost due to the slew of corruption charges levelled against it.
While former chief minister Oommen Chandy asked the CPM to take legal action in the case, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the Congress will not allow the CPM’s attempts to target the Attingal MP. “We are interested to know what evidence do CPM ministers E P Jayarajan and Kadakampally Surendran have to target Prakash,” said Chennithala.
While the party leaders closed ranks behind Prakash, Kannur MP K Sudhakaran’s assertion that “the Congress will retaliate against the CPM’s attacks on party offices” put them in a fix. Without naming Sudhakaran, Chennithala said the party does not believe in the ‘eye-for-an-eye’ approach. Both the MPs belong to the ‘I’ group and are considered close to Chennithala. However, the opposition leader chose to side with Prakash. Chennithala reiterated that the incident was not political killings, but the CPM’s way of creating martyrs. He said if Congress workers’ link in the killings is proven, then Thiruvananthapuram DCC will take appropriate action against them.