The CBI team investigating the murder of RSS leader Manoj Elanthottathil of Kathiroor in Kerala’s Kannur district on Saturday filed the chargesheet against the 19 accused in the case stating that the brutal killing was committed with the knowledge of the CPI(M) leadership.
The 120-page chargesheet submitted before the District and Sessions Court, Thalassery, Kannur was only partial and the remaining portion pertaining to the conspiracy behind the murder will be presented later as the investigation into the plot is still going on.
The chargesheet, submitted six months after the killing, said the murder was committed as an act of revenge after careful planning and with the knowledge of three area committees of the CPI(M). It said that the 19 accused arrested in the case had direct or indirect connection with the Marxist party.
A Marxist killer gang had hacked Manoj, Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh of the RSS in Kannur district, to death on September 1 last after creating a terror situation by hurling country bombs at the vehicle in which he was travelling. Manoj’s friend Pramod, who was with him in the vehicle, had suffered serious injuries in the attack.
The CBI presented to the court statements of over 200 witnesses including Pramod and about 60 exhibits along with the chargesheet. The case was initially probed by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police and was later handed over to the CBI following demands from the RSS and BJP.