Alappuzha: The Additional Sessions Court here will decide on February 26 a plea made by the defense to deem invalid the charge sheet filed by the Crime Branch in the case related to the murder of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) leader K S Shan.
When the bench of Judge Roy Varghese at Additional Sessions Court-3 took up the case for hearing Tuesday morning, the defendants argued that the charge sheet submitted by the Crime Branch Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) violated norms as the case was registered at the Mannancherry Police Station, under whose jurisdiction the crime occurred on December 18, 2021.
Shan, 38, was assaulted at the Kuppezham Junction in Mannancherry, Alappuzha by a group of assailants who rammed his bike from behind. Shan, who was attacked with iron rods and other weapons succumbed to injuries by 11.30 pm.
According to the defense, the Mannancherry Station House Officer should have submitted the charge sheet. The prosecution contended that an officer entrusted with the probe by the District Police Chief is entitled to submit the charge sheet.
Meanwhile, the court will commence the hearing in a petition seeking to quash the bail granted to 10 BJP-RSS workers accused of murdering Shan. The plea claimed that the bail was granted to the accused in violation of the provisions thereof.
The trigger for Shan's murder was the killing of 22-year-old RSS worker Nandukrishna by SDPI members at Vayalar in Alappuzha on February 24, 2021. The police filed a charge sheet against 13 individuals associated with RSS/BJP in the Shan murder case.
