2016 Kodinhi Faisal murder case: Uncertainty looms over trial for want of public prosecutor

Malappuram: Uncertainty looms over the trial of the infamous Kodinhi Faisal murder case due to the absence of a public prosecutor in the case. The government and Faisal's family have different opinions about choosing the special public prosecutor (SPP) in the case. Though the state appointed two SPPs on different occasions, they withdrew citing personal issues, and the administration turned down the name suggested by Faisal's widow. Faisal alias Anilkumar (30) was murdered allegedly by RSS workers on November 19, 2016, for converting to Islam. Police booked 16 RSS workers in the case.

The Tirur Additional District Sessions Court had scheduled to start the trial last June. However, the process keeps getting delayed due to the absence of a SPP. The government had appointed Kasaragod native Adv C K Sreedharan as the SPP in the case as per the request of the family but he withdrew citing health issues. The government then appointed Adv P G Mathew as the prosecutor on August 29 to initiate the trial process. However, he wrote to the administration explaining his inability to take up the assignment. In the meantime, Faizal's family recommended appointing Adv Kumaran Kutty, who appeared as the SPP in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case, as the SPP. However, the government showed no interest.

"There were attempts by the police to sabotage the case. They are yet to inquire about the conspiracy behind the murder. The influence of RSS, as alleged by P V Anvar recently with regard to the police on various cases, is evident in the investigation of the Kodinhi Faisal murder case. The government is reluctant even to allocate an SPP as requested by the family,” K C Naseer, who appeared for Faizal's mother in court, told Onmanorama.

Different organisations have protested against the government's lackadaisical approach in appointing an SPP willing to take up the case. "We suspect foul play on the part of the government to help the RSS by not appointing a public prosecutor recommended by Faisal's family. In such cases, the government normally appoints an advocate the family recommends. The police have not charged serious sections, which would generally not be the norm in a case of this nature. We have serious concerns that the government is trying to sabotage the case,” said V K Safeer, district general secretary of Welfare Party, which is staging a protest on the issue.