P.K. Kunhanandan, member of the Panur area committee of the Communist Party of India- (Marxist) [CPI-M], is a key conspirator in the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case, the prosecution told the High Court on Tuesday.
Special prosecutor C.K. Sreedharan was opposing the bail plea of Kunhanandan, 13th accused in the case relating to the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrasekharan at Onchiyam on May 4, 2012. The hearing on the bail application also concluded on Tuesday.
Mr. Sreedharan said Kunhanandan was the link between the two alleged killer gangs led by Manoj Kumar, alias Kirmani Manoj (second accused), and N.K. Sunil Kumar, alias Kodi Suni (third accused), engaged by the conspirators. The accused had been absconding for a long time and the police had to issue a lookout circular against him.
The High Court had previously rejected his plea on the grounds that the accused would intimidate the witnesses who had testified against him and that the trial would be a mockery. The same situation persisted, the prosecutor told the court.
Prosecution witnesses E. Babu and K. Valsan, who had deposed against Kunhanandan, were facing threats. Besides, eyewitnesses K.K. Praseeth and T.P. Manish Kumar had filed complaints that they were receiving threats over phone.
K. Gopalakrishna Kurup, counsel for the accused, argued that Kunhanandan should be granted bail on the ground that the deposition of all prosecution witnesses had been over and that it was no longer required to keep him in judicial custody.
The lawyer said the 67-year-old Kunhanandan had health issues. He had undergone a surgery at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode.
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