A retired policeman testified before the Central Bureau of Investigations (CBI) Court on Tuesday that the late Ramachandran Nair, retired constable, had told him that he had shot dead the Naxalite leader A. Verghese in 1970 on the orders of his superiors.
M.K. Jayadevan, who is witness no. 22 in the Verghese death case, told the court that Ramachandran Nair had sought treatment for alcoholism at a facility for policemen at the Malabar Special Police camp in Malappuram. He was suffering from the guilt of having killed Verghese and had turned to alcohol for solace. Mr. Jayadevan said he had taken Ramachandran Nair to a former policeman, Velayudhan, in Kozhikode, who introduced them to the social activist “Grow” Vasu.
On Mr. Vasu's suggestion that Mr. Nair record his memories of February 18, 1970, the day Verghese was shot dead, Mr. Nair narrated his experiences to Mr. Jayadevan, who wrote it down. Later, based on this statement, Mr. Vasu told the media about the way the Naxalite leader was killed, Mr. Jayadevan told the court.
The court, which is holding the trial of the case 40 years after Verghese's death, will in the coming days hear several witnesses, including the former Naxalite Ajitha.
