2 CPM leaders convicted in TP Chandrasekharan murder case surrender before court

Kozhikode: Two CPM leaders found guilty in the murder of RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan surrendered on Thursday. The 10th accused K K Krishnan and the 12th accused Jyoti Babu surrendered before the Marad Special Court.

Jyothi Babu reached the court in an ambulance. The Kerala High Court had ordered that all the accused should be produced for the sentencing hearing on February 26.

The High Court had found that eight more people, including two who surrendered, were added to the list of accused in the murder, and were involved in the conspiracy. Chandrasekharan's wife and Vadakara MLA K K Rema's testimony was crucial in assessing Krishna's involvement in the case.

Achuthan, a witness, had testified that he had heard Krishna giving a speech in which he said that “Chandrasekharan should be covered with a white blanket,' and 'Chandrasekharan's brain would be seen scattered on the road like a coconut flower'. Rema also testified that her husband had told her about this speech.

Rema also testified that a week before he was killed, Chandrasekharan told her that if the CPM attacked him, it would be with the full knowledge of K C Ramachandran, C H Asokan, K K Krishnan and P Mohanan.

Witness statements and electronic evidence including phone call data implicated Jyothi Babu. According to the witnesses, Jyothi Babu had met with the first accused Anoop, the third accused Kodi Suni, the eighth accused K C Ramachandran and the 11th accused Trouser Manojan at Samira Quarters in Chokli days before the murder. The involvement of Anup and Kodi Suni, who are not CPM workers, in this meeting, was taken as an indication of their role in the conspiracy.

The 32 phone calls between CPM leaders Ramachandran, Trouser Manojan, Jyothi Babu and P K Kunjananthan between April 2 and 20, 2012, also stood against the accused.