The High Court’s order on Monday directing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe into the murder of 21-year-old Abdul Shukkoor in 2012 is seen as another blow to the district Communist Party of India (Marxist) and party district secretary P. Jayarajan, one of the accused in the case, already facing arrest by the CBI that investigated the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) functionary E. Manoj.
The High Court’s direction could not have come at a worse time for Mr. Jayarajan, who has been in hospital since January 30 when his anticipatory bail application was rejected by the district and sessions court at Thalassery in the Manoj murder case.
His hospitalisation, reportedly for treatment of a cardiac ailment, is dubbed by his political opponents as a bid to avert arrest in the case.
Mr. Jayarajan and party’s youth leader T.V. Rajesh, MLA, were among the 33 accused in the murder of Indian Union Muslim League worker Shukkoor at Keezhara here on February 20, 2012. The two leaders had been charged by the special police team under Section 118 of IPC (concealing conspiracy).
The Shukkoor murder case turned to be a politically sensitive case with the disclosure by the special team that Mr. Rajesh and Mr. Jayarajan had the knowledge of the conspiracy hatched by some CPI(M) local functionaries to kill Shukkoor in retaliation for an alleged attack on them at Ariyil near Taliparamba on that day.
Both the leaders had been among the arrested in that case by the police.
The district and other parts of the State had witnessed incidents of large scale violence and destruction of public properties in the aftermath of the arrest of Mr. Jayarajan on August 1, 2012.
Mr. Jayarajan had been in custody for 28 days.
According to the charge-sheet, a mob of CPI(M) workers had surrounded a house at Keezhara where Shukkoor and his four friends had taken refuge at around noon and held youths in captivity for hours charging them with attack on Mr. Jayarajan and Mr. Rajesh at Ariyil.
The charge-sheet also said that the photos of the youths had been taken on mobile phone and sent them to other accused who had hatched the plot in Room No. 315 of the CPI(M)-controlled Taliparamba Cooperative Hospital where the two leaders had been admitted.
