Congress leader K. Sudhakaran, MP, has demanded that the district police file a case against Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary P. Jayarjan in connection with the murder of an Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) worker in the outbreak of violence following the alleged assault on Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders at Ariyil in Kannur on February 20.
IUML activist Abdul Shukkur, 23, hailing from Ariyil, near Taliparamba, was killed at Kannapuram on February 20 in the outbreak of tension at Ariyil that day after CPI(M) leaders including Mr. Jayarajan and T.V. Rajesh were assaulted by alleged IUML workers in the morning. The CPI(M) and IUML leaders here are locked in a war of words which followed a lawyer notice reportedly sent on behalf of the victim's mother to Mr. Jayarajan and the Deshabhimani daily seeking withdrawal of their allegation that Shukkoor was one of the IUML workers who led the attack on the CPI(M) leaders. While the CPI(M) leader refused to retract the allegation, IUML leaders, including K.M. Shaji, MLA, had demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the murder.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Mr. Sudhakaran said Mr. Jayarajan's statement at a press meet showing a photograph of a youth standing near his car and claiming that the youth in the photograph was Shukkoor was a clear indication that the CPI(M) leader was responsible for the murder of the youth. Demanding scientific methods to identify the youth in the photograph, the MP alleged that the murder raised questions about a conspiracy involving the CPI(M) leadership and the Kannapuram police, since the police had taken nearly two hours to reach the spot after receiving information that CPI(M) workers had surrounded a house. The police had even disconnected the telephone in the police station, he alleged.
To a question, the MP said the way the IUML worker had been murdered was similar to the operations of extremists, he said justifying the IUML's demand for the NIA probe into the murder. Alleging that the CPI(M) was still controlling the police force in the district, Mr. Sudhakaran said party faction committees were still active in some police stations in the district.
Meanwhile, Mr. Jayarajan at a press meet here in the morning denied that there was any conspiracy in showing the photograph of a youth who had allegedly stopped the vehicle of the CPI(M) leaders at Ariyil. If the youth was not Shukkoor, as claimed by the IUML, it was the duty of the IUML leaders to identify the youth in the photograph, he said. If the IUML leaders wanted a probe by the NIA, they had better approach their own leaders, he added.
