KOCHI; Taking a strong exemption to the plea of compensation by the legal heirs of the Italianate Varghese who was killed in a fake encounter with the police in the Thirunelli forest in Wayanad in 1970, the LDF government has informed the Kerala High Court that Varghese was a notorious criminal involved in murder and dacoity cases in Wayanad.
The affidavit was filed by the Home Department in July 22, 2016, two months after the LDF came to power.
A CBI Special Court had in 2010 awarded life imprisonment to K. Lakshmana, former Inspector General of Police and an accused in the case and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him, for what it called “the brutal killing of Varghese”. The court had acquitted the former DGP, P. Vijayan, another accused, for lack of evidence.
The CBI took over the investigation into the case on a directive from the High Court in 1999. The CBI probe was ordered following the revelations by the former police constable, P. Ramachandran Nair, that he shot dead Varghese on the orders of then Superintendent of Police Vijayan and Deputy Superintendent of Police Lakshmana inside the Thirunelli forest in February 1970. Mr. Nair died in November 2006. The appeal filed by Lakshmana against the confirmation of the Special Court verdict by the High Court is still pending before the Supreme Court. Lakshmana had later been given remission by the State government.
The affidavit filed in response to a writ seeking compensation filed by the brothers and sisters of Varghese, the State government pointed out the conviction by the lower court “ is not a ground for seeking compensation for the alleged state brutality which was not existence at any point of time and death of Varghese.”
It added that neither the CBI nor the Special Court “could find any reason to deny the fact that Varghese was a notorious criminal involved in murder and dacoity cases in Wayanad area”.
It further said that “Only the murder of Varghese was tried by the trial court and not the character and behaviour of Varghese," the affidavit said. Besides, the findings of the Special Court could not be taken as final as the appeal was pending before the Apex Court, the government said.
Eom.
