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The state government submitted before the Kerala High Court on Thursday that the chances of implicating CPM Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan in the Shukkoor murder case under section 120 B (criminal conspiracy) cannot be ruled out.
Director General of Prosecution T Asaf Ali made the submission on the bail plea of P Jayarajan, the 38th accused in the Shukkoor murder case. Terming the murder of Shukkoor as Taliban-model killing, Asaf Ali submitted that the CPM men were given the direction to ‘handle’ Shukkoor, from the hospital where Jayarajan and T V Rajesh MLA were admitted after the attack by the IUML sympathisers.
“Jayarajan was aware of the design to kill Shukkoor and he refused to disclose the incident to the police which lead to the victim’s brutal death. If Jayarajan had informed the police, the issue could have been averted. Hence the charge against the accused is legal,” the DGP submitted.
The DGP strongly opposed the bail plea and submitted the relevant portions of the case diary, including the two key statements of the witnesses against the accused. “Jayarajan is a highly influential politician and if bail is granted, it will affect the whole investigation. After the arrest of the accused, the CPM followers have been engaged in violent activities across the state,” Asaf Ali pointed out. He also submitted that a total of 712 cases were registered in the last hartal organised by the CPM, protesting against Jayarajan’s arrest.
“The state exchequer has incurred a loss of `22,387,561 owing to the hartal. A total of 118 police personnel were assaulted by the CPM activists across the state,” the prosecution said. “The statistics show how powerful the accused is. He is next to only CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. By creating a ruckus across the state, the accused wanted to convey a message that he is above the law of the state,” the DGP said.
The DGP also pointed out that the two accused, Rajesh and Jayrajan, used super-deluxe air-conditioned rooms to plot the conspiracy to kill Shukkoor. The CPM men threatened even the investigating team and the key witnesses. Physical disability cannot be taken as a reason for avoiding arrest and detention, he said.
Senior advocate M K Damodaran argued that offence under Section 118 charged against Jayrajan will not hold as the accused was not aware of the matter and he has not overheard anything. The accused had appeared twice before the SIT for hours on end. Later, he was taken into custody without being informed about the grounds of his arrest. To this argument, Asaf Ali said that if it was a framed case, the investigating team could have implicated 120 B during Jayarajan’s arrest.
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