V. Mridula, an Assistant Engineer of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) at Koothuparamba, Kannur district, told the trial court trying the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T.P. Chandrasekharan, on Friday that there was a power failure between 8.30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on May 5, 2012.
Ms. Mridula, a defence witness was deposing before R. Narayana Pisharadi, judge, Special Additional Sessions Court (Marad Cases), under Section 233 (entering upon defence) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
The defence counsel made her a witness to disprove the statement of a prosecution witness V. Nityananandan, who had testified that he had seen the third accused N.K. Sunil Kumar aka Kodi Suni and five others arriving in a autorickshaw at the Koothuparamba area committee of the CPI(M) at 8.30 p.m. on May 5, 2012. Chandrasekharan was hacked to death by a hired gang at Onchiyam at 10.15 p.m. on May 4, 2012.
Nityananandan had then told the court that he had seen in the street light the prime accused being escorted to the office by K. Dhananjayan, (70th accused ), secretary of the Koothuparamba area committee of the CPI (M), and C. Babu (42nd accused), office secretary. Another Assistant Engineer of the KSEB at Muttungal (Vadakara) was to be examined on Friday for proving the disruption of power supply at Orkatteri and Vallikkad between 9 and 9.30 p.m. on May 4, 2012. But his examination was put off as the officer failed to bring the required documents to court.
Meanwhile, the defence counsel has approached the High Court of Kerala seeking to quash the order of the trial court rejecting their petition to examine the Nodal Officer of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and submission of call data records of the mobile phone of one of the investigators, Deputy Superintendent of Police A.P. Shoukathali.
The defence counsel wanted to counter the statement of Mr. Shoukthali that he had arrested Lambu Pradeepan aka M.K. Pradeepan (the 31st accused in the case) at Thalassery on May 15, 2012. The tower location of the mobile phone of the police officer could reveal whether he was in in Thalassery or not on that day.
But the trial court had disallowed the petition citing that summoning the call data records of an investigating officer could encroach upon the privileged communication of the Police Department.
Notice issued
Our Special Correspondent writes from Kochi:
The Kerala High Court on Friday issued notice to the State government on a petition against the Kozhikode Special Court order rejecting a plea for summoning the call data records of the mobile phone of Dy.SP. Shoukathali, a member of the investigation team that probed the murder of RMP leader T.P. Chandrasekharan.
The notice was issued by Justice Harun- Ul- Rashid. The petition was filed by M.K. Pradeepan alias Lambu, accused number 31 in the murder case.
