The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Saturday issued notice on CPI (M) Idukki district secretary M.M. Mani asking him to appear before it for questioning related to his statement last week that the party had prepared a list to eliminate the political opponents and three of them had been killed by it.
The notice was affixed on the main door of his house at Irupathekkar near Kunjithanny and CPI (M) district committee office at Cheruthoni. As Mr. Mani failed to respond to a notice issued earlier, the fresh notice was issued asking him to appear in person before the Deputy Superintendent of Police office by 11 a.m. on Wednesday.
Confirming the notice, Idukki Superintendent of Police George Varghese, also a member of the SIT, told The Hindu on Saturday that Mr. Mani has to appear before the SIT officials at Thodupuzha. A meeting of the SIT members including the senior police officials and the Circle Inspectors of police, who are the members of the SIT, held a meeting on Saturday morning to review the progress of investigation in to the murder of persons as referred by Mr. Mani. The meeting was convened by Ernakulam range I.G. K.Padmakunar, who leads the SIT. However, Mr. Varghese did not divulge in to the details of the meeting as it might affect the inquiry, he said.
The SIT, on Saturday, continued taking statements from the close relatives and those accused in the murder of three persons mentioned by Mr. Mani. It took the statements from two accused in the murder of Anchery Baby, who was mentioned by Mr. Mani as killed by the party in 1982. It is believed that the SIT got valuable information from the two.
The second accused in the shooting case of Mr. Baby, Chemmannar Mattuthavalam Puthenpurackal P. N. Mohandas was questioned by Dy.SP A.U. Sunilkumar at the T.B. in Nedumkandam and took his statements. He was the Udumbanchola local committee secretary at the time when Mr. Baby was killed. Mr. Mohandas later left the party and joined the BJP. He is presently not a member of any party.
Statement from another accused in the case, Chemmannar Valiyakizhakkel A. Lakshman was also taken by the SIT team. As he is bed-ridden, the SIT team took the statement from his house.
The SIT team led by Kattappana Dy.SP K.M. Jijimon took the statements from the wife of K. Balu, the INTUC district secretary who was killed while attending a meeting in Peerumse in 2004.
A team led by Dy.SP M.J. Mathew took the statements of accused and relatives of Mullnchira Mathai and Muttukad Nanappan who were killed 1982 and 1983.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mani desists from attending public functions on the sixth day on Saturday. It is believed that Mr. Mani has not been attending public functions as per the direction from the party.
