Jomon to pen book on last 11 years of case

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Th1ough delayed, justice has been finally delivered to Sister Abhaya who was murdered 28 years ago, as the CBI special court here sentenced a priest and a nun for life imprisonment. However, the case is far from over as the convicts have decided to go for appeal. It took the CBI almost 17 years, and the judiciary another 11 years to find out who killed Abhaya and how.

As it is certain that already protracted legal battle would get stretched on further, Jomon Puthenpurackal, the convenor of Abhaya Action Council who was instrumental in ensuring that the case reached its logical end, has decided to pen a book depicting the extraordinary legal ordeals and the intrigues that he had faced during his quest for justice. This will be Jomon’s sequal to his candid autobiography that came out in 2009.

“The book will cover all those untold incidents and legal routes we have traversed after 2009. The incidents till then have been covered in ‘Abhaya Case Diary’. Whatever we have encountered after 2009 in our endeavour to ensure justice to Abhaya will form the essence of the book,” Jomon said. The initial work of the book will start soon and Jomon expects to complete it before the middle of 2021.

Jomon said the case had to be etched in the annals of history as it was a fight against those who wielded immense power. “The case, its every account, each legal step… all need to be recorded, to be told loud so that it becomes a part of history,” he said. Jomon hinted that the book will also cover the judgment of the CBI court comprehensively as several aspects of it have not been discussed in the public domain as it should have been. Meanwhile, some of the cinema production houses and directors have evinced their interest in making a film on Abhaya case and the verdict, Jomon claimed.

“I had held discussions with some filmmakers, who wanted to make a cinematic adaptation of the case and its resounding verdict. So far, we have not reached any conclusion. It is in discussion stage only,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jomon said the book or the film on the topic is of peripheral interest only, and what matters most to him is the impending legal fight. “I am bracing for that fight. I know my fight is against powerful people and those running lie factories. But I am not worried. I will march on with renewed vigour.”