Wayanad: The District Sessions Court, Kalpetta, on Saturday granted anticipatory bail to MLA I C Balakrishnan, Wayanad DCC president ND Appachan, and former DCC treasurer K K Gopinathan who face charges of abetment of suicide of former Wayanad DCC treasurer N M Vijayan. The court issued the bail while considering the plea filed by N D Appachan and delivered a common judgment.

The bail was granted by Judge S Jayakumar John. The bail conditions include a directive for the accused not to leave the district, refrain from influencing witnesses, appear for interrogation as required, and avoid tampering with evidence.

Earlier in January, the Sulthan Bathery police registered cases against four Congress leaders, including Appachan, Balakrishnan, Gopinathan, and the late former DCC president P V Balachandran.

Vijayan’s suicide note implicated the four leaders, holding them responsible for his death. The Congress leadership in Wayanad has been caught grappling with a bribe-for-job scam following the suicide of Vijayan and Jijesh. Documents have surfaced which show that Vijayan had allegedly taken bribes in return for jobs in cooperative banks ruled by Congress. The CPM then launched an agitation demanding an investigation into the suicide of Vijayan. One of the documents being circulated was an agreement of Vijayan with a person showing a transaction of Rs 30 lakhs in return for jobs in the cooperative banks ruled by Congress.

Vijayan and his son were found at home in a critical condition after consuming poison. They died at Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, in the last week of December 2024ntroversy, with the ruling CPM alleging that a cooperative bank job scam involving Balakrishnan drove the duo to take such drastic action.

Allegations suggest that Vijayan, in his role as a party office-bearer, collected money from job seekers at a Congress-controlled cooperative bank, purportedly acting under Balakrishnan’s instructions.