The Kerala High Court on Wednesday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct further investigation into the murder of National Development Front (NDF) [now Popular Front of India (PFI)] activist Mohammed Fazal in Thalassery in 2006 in view of the confessional statement given by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist.
Justice Ashok Menon directed the CBI to constitute a special team to further investigate the case.
The directives were passed while allowing a petition filed by P.K. Abdul Sathar, elder brother of Fazal, for a directive to conduct further investigation into the case. He pointed out that further investigation was required in the light of the statement given by RSS activist Subeesh alias ‘Kuppi’ Subeesh that he was involved in the murder.
Subeesh had made the confession in 2016 when he was interrogated by the Koothuparamba police in connection with the murder of CPI(M) activist Mohanan. He had stated that Fazal was murdered by RSS gangsters, including himself and three others, namely Proneesh, Prabheesh and Shinoj.
The court observed that there was undoubtedly a need for examination of the confession statement of Subeesh and the attending circumstances. It might be true that the CBI might not be satisfied with the materials now collected by the local police during the investigation in some other case involving Subeesh. But there was no harm in examining those materials also, as a part of a further investigation. Without an examination of those materials by the investigating agency, it was not proper to discard them altogether.
The Ernakulam CBI Special Court had earlier dismissed the petitioner's plea for a further investigation, holding that once the final report was filed, the de facto complainant could not seek further investigation invoking the provisions under Section 173(8) CrPC, without the investigating officer asking for it.
The State government had submitted before the court that the murder was a sequel to the NDF-RSS standoff in Thalassery in October 2006.
The CBI took over the investigation on a directive of the High Court on a plea by the victim's widow Mariyu. According to the investigation agency, Fazal of Madapedika from Kodiyeri, was murdered allegedly by a group of CPI(M) sympathisers after he defected from the CPI(M) and joined the NDF on October 22, 2006.
Eight persons, including Karayi Rajan and Karayi Chandrashekaran, CPI(M) local leaders, were arrested by the CBI. M.K. Sunil Kumar, alias ‘Kodi’ Suni, who had been convicted in the case of the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrashekaran, was named the prime accused in the case.
According to the CBI, the murder was masterminded by Rajan and Chandrashekaran because of political animosity.
