At about 5.10 a.m. on September 23, six years ago, a 60-year-old man staggered into a small eatery at Varkala. Blood gushed out from a deep wound on his neck, which he tried to staunch with his hand in vain. Hotel workers rushed him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The staff later told the police that the victim, Sivaprasad, a local resident, appeared “astonished” that he was attacked.
The retiree had no political affiliation or criminal record. The assailants were three men, all in black and wielding swords. They were travelling on a motorbike.
Sivaprasad was a compulsive early morning walker. Not even the vagaries of the weather could thwart his daily routine. It was raining on the day he was murdered.
Assistant Commissioner P. Anil Kumar, who investigated the case, said perhaps the weather had saved unknown lives that day.
The police case was that Sivaprasad’s assailants were Dalit Human Rights Movement (DHRM) activists. Its top leaders had orchestrated the attack to terrorise the area, which had witnessed Shiv Sena-DHRM violence.
Three teams, nine members in all, had set out on three motorbikes to find “targets of opportunity.” Two teams returned without finding any targets because the rain had dissuaded many residents from venturing out for their morning walk.
However, Sivaprasad’s assailants did find a second target, Asokan, a tea-seller. He was attacked minutes after Sivaprasad was ambushed.
The two crimes had caused a public outcry. They also triggered a potentially violent caste-based social polarisation in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.
Investigators claimed in court that mobile phone records showed that the assailants were in touch with DHRM leaders.
Claims contested
The DHRM has since contested the claim stating that none of the connections were in the name of their leaders. The police were yet to recover the murder weapons.
Moreover, the DHRM claimed that there were no eye witnesses to the murder. Human rights organisations had also criticised the police “for trying to foist the crime” on Dalit activists.
A district court here is trying the case and 16 persons have been named accused so far.
