Thiruvananthapuram district secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kadakampally Surendran, on Saturday, moved the court to initiate libel proceedings against the wife of CPI(M) dissident R. Selvaraj on the basis of her statements in the media that Mr. Surendran had contracted thugs to kill her husband.
In a press release here, Mr. Surendran said her statements had lowered the esteem of the party and its district secretary in front of the public. Hence, the party would file a suit seeking Rs.1 crore as damages from Ms. Selvaraj.
Appeal to police chief
On Friday, Mr. Surendran had petitioned State Police Chief Jacob Punnoose to investigate her allegations. A television channel had aired Ms. Selvaraj's allegation, which a regional language newspaper published subsequently. Mr. Surendran said he saw a conspiracy to tarnish CPI(M)'s image prior to the by-polls in Neyyattinkara.
