KANNUR: A celebration by CPM workers with flags featuring photographs of those convicted in the 2005 murder of BJP member Elambilayi Sooraj, during a temple festival recently has sparked a controversy. The BJP Kannur leadership has condemned the act.
The flags displaying the pictures of all the convicts were used at the Kuttichathan Madom festival in Parambayi during the kalasha procession on Sunday night. The event, which included DJ performances and other programmes as part of the ‘kalasham varavu’ ritual, saw party workers waving the flags while dancing and chanting slogans. Visuals of the procession, later circulated on social media, signal a striking departure from the usual festival celebrations in Kannur featuring party flags and other party symbols.
Meanwhile, BJP Kannur South district president Biju Elakkuzhi alleged that raising slogans while displaying images of murder convicts during the kalasha procession was done with the full knowledge of the CPM leadership.
“Traditionally, temple processions feature devotional songs. However, in contrast, the CPM dominated areas are promoting slogans and songs that glorify murderers. This deliberate attempt by the CPM leadership aims to undermine temple customs,” he said.
Biju accused the CPM of misusing Hindu temples for political motives. “Glorifying murderers on temple premises is an attack on religious traditions,” he said.
Not an isolated incident, says BJP
“They are not isolated incidents. Just days ago, widespread violence erupted at the Manolikkavu temple festival in Thalassery under CPM’s leadership,” Biju added.
The Thalassery District Sessions Court in Kannur had on March 8 sentenced eight CPM workers to life imprisonment for the murder of Sooraj of Muzhappilangad on August 7, 2005.
T K Rajeesh, E V Yogesh, K Shamjith, P M Manoraj and Neyyoth Sajeevan were convicted of murder, while Prabhakaran Master, K V Padmanabhan, and Monambeth Radhakrishnan were found guilty of criminal conspiracy. Puthiapurayil Pradeepan, the 11th accused, was sentenced for helping the accused go into hiding after the murder. Tenth accused Nagathankota Prakashan was acquitted after a key witness turned hostile.
The investigations had revealed that Sooraj was attacked by CPM activists six months before his murder. He had suffered a serious leg injury and had been on bed rest for months. Once he recovered and was discharged from medical care, he was attacked again and killed.
Initially, 10 people were named in the case. However, two more suspects – P M Manoraj, the brother of the chief minister’s political secretary P M Manoj one of them – were included after Rajeesh, who was later arrested in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case, confessed.
Following the court’s verdict, CPM district secretary M V Jayarajan had declared that all the accused were innocent and that the party would appeal the verdict in a higher court. The party workers had followed the police vehicle carrying the accused, chanting party slogans, when they were escorted from the Thalssery court to Kannur Central Jail.
Unofficial CPM-affiliated social media accounts, including Red Army and Porali Shaji, have since circulated videos glorifying the convicts, intensifying the controversy.