Former Chief Minister and Adminstrative Reforms Commission Chairman, V.S. Achuthanandan on Tuesday wrote to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressing his strong opposition to the killing of the Maoists. He also wanted the government to take action against the police officers who were responsible for killing the two leaders.
It was wrong to shoot down those who express dissenting opinions. He said he was expressing such a view not to demoralise the police, but rather to ensure it functioned more efficiently. Mr. Achuthanandan’s statement gave more credence to CPI leaders Kanam Rajendran, Pannian Ravindran, and Binoy Viswom who had earlier openly come out against it.
In the meantime, CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, at a function at Kovalam, said the Maoists were not killed in a fake encounter. A fake encounter is when the accused is killed after being captured. He said the two were killed in a shoot-out. The ongoing inquiry will bring out the truth, he said. Mr. Balakrishnan said it would not be correct to equate this case with that of Verghese murder case of the mid-Seventies.
