P.N. Mohandas, former area secretary of the CPM in Udumbumchola, has given a statement against CPM Idukki district secretary M.M. Mani saying he, as also four others, played roles in the murder of Youth Congress leader Anchery Baby.

Mohandas reportedly said Mani also conspired to murder Ponnappan Pillai, a Congress leader and estate owner in Idukki. However it had not materialised, he said in his statement to the police, as the case was reopened for a fresh probe.

Mohandas was the second accused in the murder of YC leader of Chemmannar, Anchery Baby, in 1982. He was later acquitted by the court for want of evidence.

In his statement to the Rajakkad police, Mohandas said Mani, the then district secretariat member of the CPM, was instrumental in hatching the conspiracy to murder Anchery Baby along with four others. The others, he said, were K.K. Jayachandran, MLA of Udumbumchola, A.K. Damodaran, O.G. Madanan and V.N. Joseph. Among these, Joseph is no more.

On Monday, based on the statement of Mohandas, the police registered a case against Mani as the first accused and Jayachandran as the second accused.

According to Mohandas, the provocation for Baby’s murder was a scuffle during a CPM procession passing through Chammannar.

A bomb was allegedly hurled at the procession. Mohandas said, Mani had, in a public meeting in 1982, mentioned the role of Anchery Baby in disrupting the CPM procession. It was 20 days later that Anchery Baby was murdered. He was shot dead on Nov. 13, 1982.

In his recent controversial speech, Mani had mentioned about a list of 13 persons who were murdered. Anchery Baby was reportedly the first in the list.

Mani moves HC to quash FIRs against him

The CPI (M) Idukki district secretary, Mr M.M. Mani, on Tuesday moved the High Court, seeking to quash the First Information Reports filed against him in the controversial speech case and three political murder cases.

The police had registered four FIRs against him in connection with his speech at Manakkad in Thodupuzha on May 25, disclosing how three political rivals were shot, beaten and stabbed to death respectively.

His plea was to set aside the Nedumkandam Magistrate Court order to permit further fresh probes in cases related to murders of Muttukad Nanappan (1983), Anchery Baby (1982) and Balu 2004.

He has been arraigned under Indian Penal Code 302 (murder) read with Sections 149 and 118.
Mr Mani argued that the state government move was to tarnish him and his party, as part of a State-level conspiracy by the Congress party.

He said the speech did not reveal any new facts inviting a further probe and no proceedings were pending before the Court.

The cases had been already disposed of. So the order passed by the magistrate was without any jurisdiction, Mr Mani said.

The magistrate could grant permission for a further investigation under Section 173 (8) only in pending cases.

The SIT was filled with pliable police personnel, who were willing to implicate him and other party workers, submitted Mr Mony.

He argued that the state government registered a crime against him with the Neyyattinkara bypoll in mind, aimed at gaining electoral mileage.

Meanwhile, sources close to Mony said he would not appear before Thodupuzha DySP on Wednesday as directed by the latter for interrogation.