KOCHI, MADURAI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday directed the state government not to cremate the dead bodies of slain Maoists — Karthi and Manivasagam, until further orders of the court. It directed the police to produce available case records including the postmortem report.
Justice R Narayana Pisharadi issued the order on the petition filed by two people — Murukesan, brother of Karthi, and Lakshmi, sister of Manivasagam. They sought to quash the Palakkad Sessions Judge’s order granting permission to the police to cremate the bodies. KS Madhusoodanan, petitioners’ counsel, submitted that the Sessions Court issued the order without examining the autopsy report.
“It’s a custodial murder, not an encounter killing. Hence, a fair investigation is needed. The police violated the SC guidelines on encounter killings,” the petitioners said.
Meanwhile, the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC directed Salem SP to deploy police personnel for the funeral of slain maoist Manivasagam. The bench added that the body should not be buried on a private property. The directions were in response to a habeas corpus petition filed by Manivasagam’s relative, seeking parole for two suspected maoists Kala and Chandra — wife and sister of Manivasagam — to perform his last rites.