It will take some more time for the battle over the investigations into the political murder of Mohammad Fazal at Thalassery to run its course. The case is set to be in the spotlight again with the Kerala High Court’s order on Wednesday for a further probe into it by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The controversy over the probe into the murder of the National Development Front (NDF) [now Popular Front of India (PFI)] worker 15 years ago has not blown over, largely because of new twists given to the case after the CBI filed its chargesheet arraigning eight CPI(M) men as accused. The further investigation is expected to bring under the scanner the ‘disclosures’ that gave the new twists to the case.
The CBI had probed the case following a High Court order on a writ filed by Mariyu, the victim’s wife, who alleged a bid to sabotage the probe by the State police. The latest court direction was issued on a plea by the victim’s brother citing the disclosure of a ‘confession’ by ‘Kuppi’ Subeesh, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker, while in police custody in another murder case, that Fazal had been hacked to death by RSS workers, including himself. Subeesh had later retracted his alleged confession stating that he was tortured by the police into making the confession.
Subeesh’s ‘confession’ was the first twist in the case post the chargesheet. Kannur Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) P.P. Sadanandan had disclosed about the confession of Subeesh in June 2017. The CPI(M) expectedly stepped up its demand for further probe, for the arraignment of its leaders Karayi Rajan and Karayi Chandrashekaran was an embarrassment to the party.
In addition to the two local CPI(M) leaders, who according to the CBI, had masterminded the murder of the 30-year-old, the accused included ‘Kodi’ Suni, who was since convicted in the case of the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrashekaran.
The case received another twist when former DySP K. Radhakrishnan, who had probed the case earlier, disclosed in May 2018 that the then Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, currently CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, had removed him from the investigation duty when the probe led to suspected role of local CPI(M) workers.
The former police officer, in his disclosure to a TV channel, had also linked his investigation in the Fazal murder case and the physical attack on him by alleged CPI(M) workers at a house near Taliparamba in Kannur on December 14, 2006, accusing him of involvement in immoral activities.
The further probe, according to political and legal circles, is hoped to unravel the truth as it is expected to cover the two disclosures, and put an end to the case being used for propaganda war by political rivals.
