Kochi: Bringing to a close a legal battle spanning 34 years, the Additional Sessions Court III, Ernakulam, on Friday acquitted all three accused in the sensational 1992 murder of Thrissur-based abkari contractor KG Munna, holding that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had failed to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Special Judge (SPE/CBI)-I, PK Mohandas, ruled that while the prosecution had successfully established that Munna’s death was a homicide and not a case of suicide or accident, it failed to prove the complete chain of circumstantial evidence required for conviction.

The court acquitted prime accused P Vijayan, an abkari contractor and brother of late CPI leader and former Mannarkkad MLA P Kumaran; second accused PK Sudheer, an abkari contractor and son of P Kumaran; and third accused George Mangalam, an employee and manager of P Vijayan.

The case dates back to April 11, 1992, when Munna’s completely charred body was found inside his Ambassador car at Thuvasserikunnu near Sreekrishnapuram in Palakkad.

The case was initially registered as an unnatural death by local police and later investigated by the Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department, which concluded that Munna had died by suicide due to financial distress. Following petitions filed by his family, however, the Kerala High Court transferred the investigation to the CBI on January 28, 1994.

According to the CBI chargesheet, the murder stemmed from fierce rivalry in the Palakkad Abkari business. The agency alleged that Vijayan and Sudheer had agreed to pay Munna ₹1.5 lakh to stay away from bidding for arrack and brandy shops during the 1992 auctions. When Munna demanded the promised amount, Sudheer allegedly handed over the money at Sabreena Hotel in Perinthalmanna on April 10, 1992.

The prosecution alleged that the accused later conspired to force Munna to return the money. They allegedly picked a quarrel with him at KPM Tourist Home, intercepted his car at Pathaikkara, and killed him by striking the back of his head with a car jack lever. They later transported the body to Thuvasserikunnu, poured vegetable oil or palm oil over the vehicle and set it ablaze to destroy evidence. The CBI also alleged that Munna’s driver, NS Radhakrishnan, was abducted to ensure his silence.

However, the court found multiple gaps in the prosecution case. One of the biggest setbacks was the testimony of NS Radhakrishnan, the prosecution’s principal eyewitness and the alleged abduction victim. Deposing through video conference from Doha, he turned completely hostile, denying that he had been present at the scene, driven Munna’s vehicle or witnessed any assault.

The court also held that the prosecution failed to establish the alleged conspiracy, noting that no staff from Sabreena Hotel or KPM Tourist Home had been examined to prove any prior agreement among the accused.

The court also ruled that recoveries relied upon by the prosecution, including a plastic container, which was used for transporting palm oil for burning the car and the dead body, seized years later, did not satisfy the legal requirements under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act since they did not lead to the discovery of any new facts based on disclosures by the accused.

The prosecution’s ‘last seen together’ theory was also rejected. The court observed that evidence showed Munna and the accused had left KPM Tourist Home separately in different vehicles, while early police statements indicated that Munna was seen alive later that evening, breaking the proximity required for invoking the principle.

Despite acquitting the accused, the court concluded that Munna’s death was a homicide. The identity of the charred remains was established through skull reconstruction superimposition tests conducted, matching blood group reports showing B-positive blood, lodging records and the recovery of Munna’s wedding ring bearing the inscription of his wife’s name ‘Mitha’.

Rejecting the defence argument of suicide or accident, the court observed that high-temperature palm oil had been used to sustain the fire and that no carboxyhaemoglobin – forms when a person breathes in carbon monoxide while they are alive during a fire – was detected in the victim’s blood, indicating that Munna had died before the vehicle was set ablaze.

However, the court noted conflicting medical evidence. While forensic expert Dr Santhakumar opined that Munna died from skull fractures leading to intracranial haemorrhage, the original autopsy surgeon Dr A Ramachandran attributed the death to burns after detecting soot particles in the air passages.

In view of these divergent opinions, the court held that although homicide had been established, the prosecution failed to conclusively prove the exact cause and precise time of death.

Holding that suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute for legal proof and that flaws in the initial police investigation could not be cured by incomplete circumstantial evidence, the court concluded that the chain of circumstances remained broken. Giving the benefit of the doubt to all three accused, it acquitted them of all charges and directed that the recovered gold ornaments of Munna be handed over to Munna’s brother.