With BJP leader Sreedharan Pillai and slain Yuva Morcha leader Jayakrishnan’s mother Kausalya demanding a re-probe into the sensational Jayakrishnan murder, the national party is making a serious attempt to take advantage of the present political situation against CPM.
Strangely, however, the two had earlier withdrawn a case against Acharuparambath Pradeepan, prime accused in the Jayakrishnan murder, in return for the release of some BJP activists who were convicts in some political cases.
It was 11 years after the murder in front of Jayakrishnan’s students at a school in Kannur that the eternal foes, CPM and BJP, came to an out-of-court settlement on the issue of releasing the convicts.
This resulted in the withdrawal of Jayakrishnan’s mother's plea against the release of several CPM political prisoners.
The mother, in September last year, informed the Kerala high court that she didn’t wish to press the matter further. Her counsel then was Sreedharan Pillai.
But, after M.M. Mani’s controversial speech, a reenergised Sreedharan Pillai repeatedly sought a re-investigation into the Jayakrishnan murder.
According to advocate Jayasankar, a political commentator, the murder resulted in two more unnatural deaths.
One of the accused in the case threw himself before a train owing to the pressure he had to bear in the aftermath of the murder, while another was hacked to death allegedly by BJP activists. Like Mani said, the CPM used to give a list for the police to complete the probe.
Call to reopen murder case
The CPM leadership, trying desperately to extricate itself from charges of involvement in the TPC murder, is facing fresh trouble with BJP leaders asking the government to reopen the K.T. Jayakrishnan murder probe.
The demand gained traction following the arrest of T.K. Rejeesh, a key hitman of the CPM, in connection with the TPC case.
Rajeesh has told the SIT of his involvement in the killing of Jayakrishnan, a prominent leader of the RSS, in front of his students while he was taking class at the Mokeri East UP School on December 1, 1999. Rejeesh was never arrested in the case. Nor did he face any police interrogation.
According to former BJP president P.S Sreedharan Pillai, the government should reopen the case since the involvement of Rejeesh in the killing has become clear.
In political killings connected with the CPM, the party always protected the actual killers by providing a list of proxy culprits to the police, he said.
Yuva Morcha state president K. Surendran has also urged the government to reopen the case. According to him, Rejeesh would not take part in any action without prior permission from CPM leader P. Jayarajan. P.K. Krishnadas, another BJP leader, also demanded a fresh investigation in the case.
However, he alleged that the case was sabotaged earlier following a conspiracy between CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan and chief minister Oommen Chandy.
The two leaders met at Thycadu Guest House in the capital and decided to subvert the case, he alleged.