Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader P K Kunhanandan, a convict in the murder of political rival T P Chandrasekharan, died at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Thursday night.
Seventy-three-year-old Kunhanandan was on bail and was undergoing treatment at the hospital for multiple diseases. Apparently he died of a stomach infection.
Kunhanandan was the CPM's Panur area committee member when T P Chandrashekharan was murdered on May 4, 2012. Panur is in Kannur district.
Political rivalary and a sensational murder
Chandrashekharan had left CPM in 2009 to form rival outfit Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP).
Many CPM cadres and sympathisers had joined the new party because of Chandrashekharan's mass appeal.
His murder had rattled Kerala politics. Eye witnesses had said that his body had 51 wounds.
The factional fight between CPM leaders Pinarayi Vijayan and V S Achuthanandan reached a crescendo following the murder. Achuthanandan had condemned the killing while Pinarayi had termed Chandrashekharan Kulam Kuthi, a traitor.
Though CPM had denied any role in his killing, the party's hand became evident with the conviction of Kunhanandan and 12 other workers.
Kunhanandan was absconding for three months after Chandrashekharan's murder. He surrendered before the police on July 23, 2012.
On January 24, 2014, the Additional Sessions Court in Kozhikode convicted him and sentenced to life term and a fine of ₹1 lakh.
He had moved court in 2019 with a plea to suspend his sentence of life imprisonment and release him on bail.
A medical report produced at the court stated that he was suffering from cervical spondylolysis and poly arthritis and he should undergo prolonged antibiotic therapy.
The Kerala High Court has suspended his sentence for three months and gave him bail to undergo treatment.
Pinarayi condoles
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of P K Kunhanandan. In a Facebook post, Vijayan wrote that Kunhanandan was a committed party worker and a social leader, and that was reverred by all in Panur.
