The District and Sessions Court at Manjeri on Friday rejected the bail petition of 10 Airports Authority of India (AAI) employees who were in remand in connection with the killing of a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) constable at Karipur airport on June 10.
Judge N.J. Jose refused to give bail to P.R. Ajikumar, 41; M.K. Jagannathan Nair, 59; K. Joseph Shine, 42; K.P. Rineesh, 41; N.R. Ajit Kumar, 41; M. Joshi, 38; A.B. Aneesh, 38; K.P. Bridgu, 40; P.K. Sreedharan, 59; K. Madhu Madhavan, 51.
The judge observed that the June 10 incidents had brought shame to Calicut International Airport, Karipur. As the case was in the initial stages, granting bail to the accused would help them destroy the evidence, the court said.
It was at 9.45 p.m. on June 10 that CISF constable S.S. Yadav lost his life when a bullet from the gun of his senior colleague Sitaram Chaudhury pierced his skull. The close-range shot was apparently fired by accident during a scuffle between Mr. Chaudhury and a section of the AAI men.
The prosecution argued that the AAI staff had attacked Mr. Chaudhury and grabbed his pistol in retaliation for frisking against their will.
The prosecution said that it was the arrogance of Ajikumar (the first accused) which led to the violent incidents at the airport.
The judge said the clash between two sections of employees who had the responsibility to ensure the safety of passengers had brought shame on Karipur. He said the incident could not be brushed aside as frivolous.
The counsel for the accused argued that there was no intention to kill the CISF jawan, and that the CISF men had caused widespread destruction to the airport.
