A senior CPI-M leaderfacing murder charges after a controversial statement that his party hadeliminated its political foes in the past today failed to appear before the SITfor questioning even as the party faced further embarrassment with anotherfunctionary asking cadre to store chilli water to use it against police comingfor probe.
In more trouble for the embattledCPI-M leadership in Kerala, another party leader was booked on the charge ofthreatening police probing an IUML worker's murder.
CPI-M Idukki District Secretary M MMani, whose statement at a recent public meeting on elimination of foes haslanded him and the party in trouble, failed to comply with the police summonsto appear before the Special Investigation Team probing political murders sincethe 1980s but deputed his lawyers to explain his position.
Mani moved the high court seekingquashing of the case, contending it was 'wrong and illegal' to file FIR on thebasis of a speech. Senior Advocate, M K Damodaran, appearing for Mani, said hisclient's speech was 'reckless', but the act of the state was 'more reckless'
Director General of Prosecutions TAsaf Ali said a detailed probe was necessary on the basis of disclosures madeby Mani to find out details of the remaining 10 persons in the list (ofpolitical foes) allegedly prepared by CPIM as stated by him in his speech. Thehearing will continue tomorrow.
After Mani's stunning remarks, theSIT was set up by the Congress-led UDF Government to probe political murders inIdukki district in the 1980s. .