Kannur: The relatives of two victims of political violence here have separately demanded further probe into the killings following the public spat between chief minister and KPCC president on decades-old campus brawls and political bloodshed.
Reiterating his demand for further probe into the gunning down of Nalppady Vasu, his brother Nalppady Rajan said he would initiate legal action against KPCC (Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee) chief K Sudhakaran. Vasu was killed on March 4, 1993.
“Sudhakaran’s statement revealed that an innocent man had been shot dead. He had earlier said that CPM worker Nalppady Vasu was shot after he had launched an attack. He now says Vasu was standing under a tree when he was shot,” Rajan said.
Minutes after Vasu’s killing, Sudhakaran told a public meeting at Mattannur town that a man had been gunned down. Rajan told the media that former Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, under Sudhakaran’s influence, had rejected his memorandum seeking further probe.
“Vasu was shot dead at Puliyangodu, Mattannur, when Sudhakaran, along with armed goons, were campaigning in the district, accusing the CPM of unleashing violence. After the incident, he hoodwinked the police, and took a different route with his supporters to reach Mattannur,” Rajan said.
The man added that Sudhakaran and his supporters smashed their car’s lamps to claim that they had been attacked. “Sudhakaran may have been acquitted on technical grounds, but he is still the convict before the public,” Rajan said.
Meanwhile, A Bhargavi, wife of K Nanu who was killed in an attack on Savoury Hotel here, demanded further probe into the incident and to arraign Sudhakaran as an accused. The KPCC president had on Saturday told a news conference that Congress workers had killed Nanu by mistake.
Sudhakaran was the Kannur District Congress Committee president when Nanu was killed on June 13, 1992.
“K Sudhakaran’s statement was his confession. I will consult legal experts and decide on a future course. Though I had asked for further probe earlier based on (former local leader of the Congress) Prashanth Babu’s statement, no action was initiated,” Bhargavi said.
Sudhakaran unperturbed
KPCC president K Sudhakaran said he is not worried over the fresh complaints against him over the killings of Nalppadi Vasu and Savoury Hotel employee Nanu.
“These cases were tried in courts. I was not in Kannur when bombs were lobbed at Savoury Hotel. My name was not initially mentioned in Nalppady murder case. A sentence, ‘K Sudhakaran MLA was standing outside the car’, was later added to the complaint, below the acknowledgement, ‘received.’ The allegation that I had ordered to fire was made later,” Sudhakaran said.
Sudhakaran to personally target Pinarayi
KPCC president K Sudhakaran, on Sunday, said he will continue to personally target Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“Political criminals who consider themselves as autocrats, and make their followers believe so, should be personally defeated. Some have pointed out that I am targeting Pinarayi Vijayan personally. Yes, it’s personal criticism,” he posted on Facebook.
Sudhakaran said from VS (Achuthanandan) to M A Baby and K K Shailaja were all Pinarayi’s victims in CPM. The only one who had the courage to question Pinarayi was T P Chandrasekharan, he posted.
Meanwhile, former minister A K Balan said the party would take on Sudhakaran if he continued the personal attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“We will decide on whether to reveal the name of the Congress leader, who tipped (Pinarayi) off Sudhakaran’s plan to abduct his children. The man had told the incident to his son before his death, Balan said.
'Pinarayi, an anti-communist gang leader'
Pinarayi Vijayan is the leader of an anti-Marxist gang, said former CMP leader Shaji Pandyala.
Son of CPM leader Pandyala Gopalan, Shaji was the State president of CMP’s youth wing, hailing from Vijayan’s hometown.
“Though he was never directly involved in the violence, he was behind all the conspiracies. I was opposed to Pinarayi even when I was with the CPM. After joining CMP, I was brutally assaulted for about one hour by CPM men. I had to undergo treatment for 1.5 years, and couldn't even hold my children, Shaji said.
He added that CPM murdered Babu, who had joined CMP. The CPM prevented others from providing electricity and Tilley lanterns to conduct his funeral.
The latest spat between Vijayan and Sudhakaran began after the latter claimed last week that he had defeated the chief minister in a campus fight in Brennan College in the 1960s. Vijayan countered, suggesting he had emerged victorious in the fight.
