Kannur: Adv Hareendran, who recently alleged that Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty intervened in the case related to the murder of party worker Ariyil Shukoor to exempt CPM leader P Jayarajan from murder charges, said that he stands firm on the accusation.
He said that the police got in touch with him for Kunhalikutty, unofficially, as he is a criminal lawyer.
Hareendran said that he was also ready for the challenge if Kunhalikutty decided to launch legal proceedings against him.
Meanwhile, Hareendran’s allegation has sparked a fresh controversy within the United Democratic Front (UDF). The ball was set rolling by K Sudhakaran, the state president of the Congress, who asked publicly whether the charge against Kunhalikutty wasn’t serious.
Muslim League, provoked by Sudhakaran’s query, suspected a conspiracy behind the allegation. “We will discuss the matter raised by Sudhakaran at the UDF meeting scheduled on Friday,” said P M A Salam, state general secretary of the Muslim League.
The League wants to ascertain whether the allegation against Kunhalikutty emerged from the UDF or somewhere else. In case it is found that someone within UDF was behind it, the front would face a major crisis.
Certain people in the UDF who were irked by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s recent statement terming League as the strongest party in the UDF were behind the allegation, feel many League leaders.
When the League raises the issue during Friday’s UDF meet, a section in the Congress is expected to support the party.
Shukoor was murdered in broad daylight at Ariyil in Kannur in February, 2012. The murder was apparently sparked by an attack on some CPI(M) workers at Ariyil, a stronghold of the Muslim League, during the third week of February that year.
