Malappuram: The Additional District Sessions Court in Manjeri has found the first accused, Malangadan Shafeeq (56), guilty in the murder of Youth League worker Othayi Palliparamban Manaf. The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on Saturday.

During the trial, Judge AV Telles convicted Shafeeq, nephew of former MLA and Trinamool Congress leader PV Anvar, under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with the punishment for murder, while acquitting three other accused in the case. 

Manaf, an autorickshaw driver, was beaten and stabbed to death in broad daylight at Othayi Angadi near Edavanna on April 13, 1995.

Shafeeq’s brother Sherif (54), Nilambur Janathappadi native Muneeb (52), and Elamaram Mapram Payyanatthodika Kabir Jabir (52) are the three accused who were acquitted.

Manaf’s uncle, Palliparamban Abubacker, said that an appeal will be filed against the acquittal of Sherif. Manaf’s siblings—Rasakh, Mansoor, and Rajeena—were present in court and expressed satisfaction that their thirty-year legal struggle had finally yielded justice.

VN Anilkumar, a former Senior Special Public Prosecutor of the CBI, appeared as the Special Prosecutor in the case.

According to the chargesheet, four of the accused, including Shafeeq, fled abroad and remained absconding for nearly 25 years. It was only after a prolonged legal battle led by Manaf’s family that these accused were finally brought to trial.

In 2009, the Manjeri Additional District Sessions Court acquitted Anvar, the second accused, along with 20 others, after the first witness turned hostile.

For decades, the police made no progress in arresting the four key accused, including two nephews of Anvar. The investigation gained momentum only after Manaf’s brother, Abdul Rasaq, approached the court. On July 25, 2018, the Manjeri Judicial First Class Magistrate Court issued lookout notices and directed that the accused be traced with the assistance of Interpol. Following this, three of them, including the second accused, Sherif, surrendered.

Meanwhile, Rasaq’s revision plea seeking punishment for the 21 accused earlier acquitted—including PV Anvar—is currently pending before the Kerala High Court.