The recent political murders in Kerala have exposed a time-tested tradition that the CPM has honored-to stand by, protect and support those who executed political killings for the party; more so in Kannur.
While state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has reiterated that it would not protect those who were involved in the recent murder of Congress leader Shuhaib, it is common knowledge that the CPM is not a party that dumps those who are ready to commit crimes for it.
Examples abound
P K Kunhanandan was included in the Panur area committee for the second straight time, even though he is undergoing life imprisonment in Kannur Central Jail for being one of the conspirators in the murder of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan.
Kunhanandan, 70 retained his seat despite the party removing two others from the committee citing their age.
According to the police and court, Kunhanandan, who attended the last area committee meeting on parole, had conspired with the other convicts at his own house to murder Chandrasekharan.
So how does a man who is in jail and not active in party or public fora get a position in the area committee? There is only one answer — the CPM is indebted to him after TP’s murder.
Karayi Rajan, accused No. 7 in the killing of NDF activist Mohammed Fazal, won the last panchayat elections on a CPM ticket and became the Kannur district panchayat president. But he had to quit the position after the CBI court hearing the case refused to ease the bail condition preventing him from traveling outside Ernakulam.
The CPM had arranged him the job of a proofreader at the party-run Chintha Publishers in Thiruvananthapuram. But he lost that too after court intervention.
Currently, he is a member of CPM’s Kannur secretariat.
Karayi Chandrasekharan, who is accused No. 8 in the same case, also contested the local body elections and became the Thalassery municipal chairman.
He too had to step down as municipal president after the court made his bail conditions stricter. He is still a municipal councilor and member of CPM’s Thalassery area committee.
The main accused in an arson incident at Kanjikode in Palakkad, where BJP workers Vimala Devi and Radhakrishnan were killed, was recently elected the CPM branch secretary of the same area where the attack took place.
While the selection of Jayakumar as the branch secretary of Chadayan Kalai had triggered a controversy, the CPM state secretary dismissed the leadership’s involvement, saying that the local party members had elected him.
CPM’s Kalamassery area secretary V A Zakir Hussein was in police remand for two weeks in connection with the abduction of a businessman in Ernakulam.
After the police named him in the case, the party had removed him from the position. However, he was reinstated as area secretary after an internal probe by the party held him innocent. He was again made secretary in the last area meeting and included in the district committee as well.
Zakir Hussein is also the president of the Ernakulam District Sports Council.
S Jayamohan, who had been accused by the CBI in a conspiracy to kill Congress Eroor president Nettayam Ramabhadran in Kollam, is the current chairman of the Cashewnut Development Corporation.
CPM district committee member Babu Panikar had also been held in remand in the same case.
DYFI Anjal block committee secretary Afzal was another party leader who was in remand.
Fishermen’s union Kollam secretary and CPM district committee member P Manoharan had spent five years in jail in connection with a murder attempt on an RSS activist in Chavara.