The CPI(M) of Kannur, Kerala, currently facing the charge of brutally murdering RSS leader Manoj of Kathiroor on September 1, is finding itself in a difficult spot with demands coming up for a reinvestigation into the killing of local Marxist leader Madathikkunnil Surendran 16 years ago just when the comrades are observing his "martyrdom" day on Tuesday.
What is being said now is that BJP-RSS activists had no role in the killing of Surendran, CPI(M)'s branch secretary at East Kathiroor (West), on October 7, 1998 but he was hacked to death by his own comrades by mistake in the darkness during the nightly attack they carried out against RSS leader Manoj.
Posters appeared all over the Kathiroor area on the eve of Surendran's "martyrdom" anniversary demanding a reinvestigation into the murder that took place 16 years ago. This demand has come amidst alleged CPI(M) efforts to describe the Manoj murder as an act of revenge for Surendran's murder. Manoj was one of the seven accused in the 1998 murder case.
Incidents of attacks on untargeted persons by mistake have not been rare in the blood-splattered history of violent politics of Kerala's Kannur district in the past four decades in which CPI(M) has invariably been on one side in every conflict. In the case of the murder of Surendran, CPI(M) is being accused of putting the blame for it on RSS-BJP activists.
CPI(M) activist Vikraman, first accused in the Manoj murder case, had told the Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police's Crime Branch that he had killed the RSS leader to avenge the murder of his close friend, Surendran, and that his organisation had no role in it. Several senior CPI(M) leaders had made claims on these lines after the Manoj murder.
Within an hour of the murder of Manoj, Jain Raj, son of CPI(M)'s Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan, had made Facebook posts saying, "How long have I been waiting to hear this happy news" and that it was natural for him to feel happy after hearing about the punishment meted out to the killer of his "elder brother" Surendran.
The RSS had lodged a complaint with the police immediately after the Marxists' attempt on Manoj's life in 1998 but the police booked seven RSS-BJP workers for the murder of Surendran allegedly as per a list of accused provided to them by the CPI(M) leadership. However, the trial court acquitted all of them for want of evidence.
What is interesting is that the prosecution did not appeal against the lower court verdict despite the fact that the CPI(M) was in power then. Moreover, important files concerning the case reportedly went missing from the Government Pleader's office. Even if the present Congress-led Government wants to re-probe the Surendran murder case, it will first have to find these files.
Kannur's Congress strongman and former MP K Sudhakaran also had recently raised the allegation that Surendran was killed not by RSS-BJP activists but by his own comrades by mistake. "A friend of Surendran was heard admitting this in a delirium just before the cremation but P Jayarajan forced him to remain silent," Sudhakaran said.
Sources in the CPI(M) admitted that the issue might hit the party as a double whammy as the grassroots workers and lower-level leaders are sure to raise questions about it in the ongoing branch conferences in preparation for the 21st party congress apart from the antipathy it was facing from the general public with regard to its alleged involvement in violent politics.