Acquitted, P. Mohanan walks free

CPI(M) leader was accused of hatching the T. P. murder plot

CPI(M) leader P. Mohanan at the special court after the verdict in the T. P. murder case on Wednesday. Photo: PTI

After remaining in custody for more than one-and-a-half years, P. Mohanan, member of the Kozhikode district secretariat of the CPI(M), who was acquitted in the case of killing of RMP leader T. P. Chandrasekharan, walked out of the district jail on Wednesday.

Special Additional Sessions Court (Marad cases) at Eranhipalam here exonerated Mr. Mohanan of all charges, as the prosecution was unable to establish the charges against him. Mr. Mohanan was charged with involvement in hatching the murder plot. The special police team had arrested him on June 29, 2012. Since then, he had been lodged at the district jail.

Mr. Mohanan, a former president of the Kozhikode district panchayat, was received by his wife and Kuttiyadi MLA, K.K. Lathika, CPI (M) district secretary T.P. Ramakrishnan, and State secretariat member Elamaram Karim. He was named 14 accused in the case.

He had made several attempts to secure a bail either from the trial court or from the High Court of Kerala. However, the prosecution stoutly argued against it. The special team had charged him with Section 118 (concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 109 (punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in consequence and where no express provision is made for its punishment), and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution said Mr. Mohanan, along with C.H. Ashokan, former secretary of the Onchiyam area committee of the CPI (M); K.K. Krishnan, member of the same committee; and K.C. Ramachandran, member of the Kunnummakkara local committee; gathered at the flower shop of Padayankandi Raveendran M.K., member of the Orkatteri local committee, to allegedly hatch a conspiracy to kill Chandrasekharan.

Soon after his release, Mr. Mohanan told presspersons that he was innocent. “I have no involvement in the killing of Chandrasekharan. The police framed charges against me possibly due to compulsions,” he said.

List of acquitted

Those who have been set free on Wednesday were K.K. Krishnan (10 accused ) Jyothi Babu (12) P. Mohanan (14), P.C. Shibu (16); K. Sreejith (17); C.K. Aswanth aka Achu (19); K.P. Dilshad(20); P.K. Mohammed Faslu (21); M.P. Sanoop (22); C.K. Rajikanth (25); C. Rajith (27); P.M. Rameesh aka Kuttu (28); K.P.Dipin aka Kuttan aka Dipi (29); M. K. Raveendran (30); Shanoj aka Kelan (33); Jijesh Kumar (36); N.M. Shaju (37); M. Abhinesh aka Abhi (39); M. Saneesh (41); C. Babu (42); K. Sreejith (48); M. Sudheesh (49); P. Jigesh (50) and K. Dhananjayan (70).