KALPETTA: More than 23 years after the Muthanga police firing, the Kalpetta Principle Sessions Court will deliver its verdict on July 31 in the murder case of police constable K V Vinod, who was killed during the violence at the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary on February 19, 2003.
The verdict by District Principal Sessions Court Judge Ayoob Khan is expected to bring legal closure to one of the longest-pending criminal cases arising from the Muthanga agitation.
Yet, for the families on both sides of the conflict, the judgment is unlikely to end decades of grief. While Vinod’s family has waited more than two decades for justice, tribal activists continue to demand accountability for the death of tribal protester Jogi, whose case has never been investigated.
The CBI case relates to the killing of Vinod during the police operation to evict hundreds of Adivasi families who had occupied land inside the sanctuary under the banner of the Adivasi Gothra Maha Sabha (AGMS).A total of 53 tribal men were chargesheeted, with AGMS leader Geethanandhan named as the first accused.
According to the prosecution,Vinod and another policeman were taken hostage inside a makeshift shed during the confrontation at Gowdanvayal in Thakarappadi, where the 47-day land occupation protest led by C K Janu and Geethanandhan had reached its climax. The prosecution alleged that Vinod was killed while in captivity.
The defence, however, argued that there was no direct eyewitness to what transpired inside the shed. Defence counsel Adv Rasheed told the court that witnesses, including journalists who covered the incident, were stationed about 50m away and their view was obscured by heavy smoke caused by continuous firing and grenade explosions.“From the evidence of all the witnesses, it is clear that none of them actually saw what happened inside the shed. Therefore, there is no eyewitness account of the incident,” Rasheed said.
For Vinod’s family in Kannur, the verdict comes after years of uncertainty. His brother, K V Babu, a retired circle inspector, said the family remained unaware of the progress of the trial despite repeated attempts to obtain information.
“It was only when a journalist contacted me that I came to know the verdict would be delivered. During my service, I tried several times to find out the status of the case and even filed RTI applications. The only reply was that the trial was continuing. It has been 23 years since my brother died. Our father passed away carrying that pain. My mother is still living with it. After all these years, I don’t know whether we will get justice. Delayed justice is indeed denied justice,” Babu said. Of the 53 accused, 15 have died during the prolonged trial. One is bedridden and the remaining accused, now elderly, have continued to appear before the court.
Calling the prolonged proceedings an injustice, Geethanandhan said, “23 years is a long period in a person’s life. Many of the accused are no longer alive. We have continued to appear before the court all these years, hoping that the truth will finally come out.”
While the CBI trial focuses on Vinod’s murder, the death of tribal protester Jogi remains another unresolved chapter of the Muthanga firing.
AGMS leader C K Janu alleged that despite repeated legal efforts, no criminal case was registered into Jogi’s death.
Geethanandhan said, “The judgment is expected to record the circumstances of the police firing. If it establishes that Jogi died in the firing, we will immediately move for a fresh investigation into his death.”