The Kerala BJP on Tuesday protested the alleged Government move to review the charge imposed on the murderers of RSS leader Manoj of Kathiroor in Kannur district under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act even as the CPI(M) activist arrested the other day for helping the main accused in the case was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
State law and Finance Minister KM Mani, also chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), the third biggest constituent of the Congress-led ruling UDF, stirred a hornets’ nest by stating in Kannur that the Government would hold a review of the slapping of charges under the UAPA on the eight accused in the Manoj murder case.
The Kerala Police had charged the accused under the UAPA considering the creation by them of a terror situation on the crime scene by exploding bombs and murdering Manoj by slitting his throat. The imposition of charges under the UAPA in the case was expected to make the transfer of the probe into the murder to a Central investigating agency easier.
Mani said in Kannur that the abuse of stringent laws should be stopped at any cost. “The Government has been thinking of making appropriate changes to the stringent laws considering the needs of the times,” he added.
State BJP president V Muraleedharan reacted to Mani’s statement acerbically by saying that it seemed to be part of a bid to weaken the case against the murderers of Manoj. “The charges under the UAPA were not slapped on the murderers as per the BJP’s demand. But we will resist all efforts to dilute the case,” Muraleedharan said in Thiruvananthapuram.
The BJP leader said that it was up to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala to offer an explanation on what Mani had said. The BJP has planned a massive campaign programme from September 22 to 25 in northern Kerala including Kannur against the Marxists’ violent politics.
Manoj (42) of Elanthottathil, Kannur district Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh of the RSS, was hacked to death by a Marxist killer gang at Kathiroor on September 1. Manoj’s friend Pramod (50) had suffered serious injuries in the attack. The killers had attacked them after creating a terror scene by hurling country bombs at the vehicle in which they were travelling.
Meanwhile, the District and Sessions Court in Thalassery, Kannur on Tuesday remanded Prakasan, a CPI(M) member from Kathiroor arrested the other day, in judicial custody for 14 days. The court ordered him to be transferred to the Sub-Jail in Kannur. Prakasan is managing director of the CPI(M)-controlled Patyam Service Cooperative Society.