Ariyil Shukoor murder case: Charges framed against P Jayarajan, Rajesh; trial to begin on Nov 20

Kochi: The CBI Special Court in Kochi on Friday, October 18, framed charges against all accused, including former CPM Kannur District Secretary P Jayarajan and former MLA TV Rajesh, in the murder case of Youth League activist Abdul Shukoor in Ariyil.

After the special judge dismissed their discharge petition, seeking exemption from the trial, on September 19, both P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh were directed to appear before the court for framing of charges against them as part of the pre-trial process.

All the accused, including P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh, appeared in the CBI Special Court on Friday. Out of the 33 accused in the case, two have passed away.

The charges of murder and conspiracy, among others, were read out against P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh. All the accused denied the charges after they were read out. The trial proceedings would begin on November 20. The counsel for the mother of the deceased, Advocate Mohammad Shah, urged the court to begin the trial at the earliest, as 12 years have passed since the murder occurred.

On February 20, 2012, when Jayarajan, who was then the CPM's district secretary, and Rajesh, who was then Kalliasseri MLA, visited Ariyil, their car was blocked by protesting Youth League supporters.

A few hours after the incident, Muslim League worker Shukoor was hacked to death allegedly by CPM workers. The CBI that submitted the charge sheet billed the murder as a revenge attack for the protest against Jayarajan and Rajesh.

Kannur police had booked 12 IUML workers with an attempt to murder for the protest against the two CPM leaders. All 12 were acquitted by the Additional Sessions Court in Kannur on October 12, 2021.