People's Democracy

Media-Aided Gameplan To Target CPI(M) -- II

Pinarayi Vijayan

IMMEDIATELY after the murder of Chandrasekharan, the UDF leadership blamed the CPI(M) for the incident and subsequently, using the state powers, it tried to exploit the murder case against the party. It was never heard in Kerala that the home minister himself was present at the spot during the preparation of an inquest and post-mortem report. It is certainly not strange if a home minister attends a meeting of the investigating officers. But it would be extremely surprising if a KPCC president attends such a meeting and gives directions to the investigating team. In this case, such an instance also occurred.

UNHEARD-OF

INTERVENTIONS

After convening a meeting of the investigation team, the DGP, who has control over the police investigation and day to day affairs of the department, opined that the murder was not politically motivated but was for certain personal gains. Immediately, however, the home minister came to the scene and declared that the murder was politically motivated. All these interventions incontestably prove the fact that they were intended to hinder a fair and independent police investigation. A home minister’s intervention to even counteract a statement of the DGP was never heard of in the administrative history.

In our federal system, the law and order question is a state subject. However, central minister of state for home Mullappally Ramachandran forgot this elementary principle; while addressing a gathering at Vadakara he declared that the CBI would take over the investigation if the investigation was not moving in the direction as set by the UDF. It is in fact an encroachment upon the authority of the state government and was intended to intimidate the investigating officers. He had further added that only small fishes were trapped thus far and that the big sharks were yet to be trapped. It is to be noted that it was after this speech that sections of criminal conspiracy were included in this case. One of these sections of criminal conspiracy has the peculiarity that anyone can be implicated in a conspiracy case. This is another solid proof that the ongoing investigation has behind it sheer political motivation.

At this stage, certain leaders of the Congress party also intervened and openly declared the names to be involved as accused in the murder case. KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala took the name of the CPI(M)’s Onchiyam area secretary C H Ashokan --- much before he was arrested and made an accused in the case. It is obvious that the script to decide who would be the accused was prepared at the political level and that the investigating team arrested the same persons on the basis of a prearranged programme. As a part of their responsibilities in this dubious plot, UDF leaders proffered many arguments --- e.g. that C H Ashokan did not attend the NGO Union conference or that T P Ramakrishnan did not visit China --- which subsequently proved wrong.

THE CPI(M)’S

FIRM STAND

On its part, the CPI(M)’s position was firm and sincere --- that the actual culprits of the murder must be brought to justice. The party extended all possible and necessary support for such an investigation. The CPI(M) stand is that the truth would come out and then everything would be set aright. That was the reason that in the initial days of the investigation, and amid all politically motivated hullabaloo, the CPI(M) did not react even when some of the party activists were arrested. It also told its cadre that those who were asked to appear before the investigating team, must do so and cooperate with the investigation process.

However, after repeated indications that establish the fact that the police has been moving on the basis of a predetermined script and trying to deliberately divert the investigation into motivated directions, the CPI(M) raised certain doubts about the investigation. One such significant incident was that the police took the party’s Kuthuparamba office secretary in custody in a dubious manner. He was asked to come to the police station on the pretext of having a talk about some other case, and when he went to the Kuthuparamba circle inspector’s office, he was taken to the Vadakara DYSP office under police custody. Yet the party maintained its calm even after this arrest in a fraudulent manner. The police informed the party leaders who went to meet him that he would be released immediately after questioning. But the police disregarded its previous assurance and kept him in custody even after the lapse of more than 24 hours, which is the legal time limit set for keeping someone in police custody. Under the leadership of M V Jayarajan, democratic protest had then to be organised in front of the DYSP office. By this time, genuine suspicions had raised their heads that the investigation was hampering the people’s legal rights and becoming non-transparent.

The CPI(M) did not ask what was happening to those in the police custody, as the party’s firm position was in favour of a fair and comprehensive investigation to bring those responsible to book. However, Babu’s disclosure made us realise how the investigation team was torturing the party cadre in custody. The police had tortured Babu terribly --- so much so that he had fallen unconscious three times during the questioning(!?) by the police. The police was insisting upon him that he must give a statement to the effect that the party’s Kannur district secretariat member Valsan Panoli had a role in the murder. Babu was tortured because he had declined to give any such false statement. Later he was hospitalised.

EVIDENCES

OF TORTURE

After coming to know about heinous torture in the police custody, party leaders felt to meet all the comrades who were in police custody. But the police did not allow us to meet them in custody. After the concerned comrades were sent to the judicial custody, the party’s state secretariat member Elamaram Kareem (MLA) and K K Lathika (another MLA) were able to meet the party’s local committee member Padayankandy Raveendran. Before that, however, motivated news had been flashed in the media about Raveendran having made a statement. But in front of the jail superintendent, Raveendran explained how he was brutally tortured and he also told that he had not given any statement as was reported in the media. Raveendran’s disclosure made the party to understand in detail about the brutal torture taken place in police custody.

Naturally, the party leaders asked him why he did not give the statement about the torture in the court. To this, he replied that it was due to his apprehension about further and more terrible torture if he reported it to the court.

After this meeting, the party leaders moved to expose the gameplan being executed by some of the investigating officers in association with the media. It was revealed after talking with Raveendran that certain police officers deliberately ‘disclosed’ fabricated statements and reports to the media so as to target the CPI(M).

All this was enough to convince the party that the real story was quite different from the cooked-up stories being propagated by the media. As a political activist, Elamaram Kareem took the responsibility to convince the public about the reality that the real facts were far away from the media hullabaloo. He explained the facts while addressing a protest march to the SP office. That is why the police repeatedly foisted criminal cases against Elamaram Kareem. While the media, quoting the police sources, have been frequently propagating erroneous news in order to target the CPI(M), how will they justify the foisting of false cases against the party leaders who wanted to expose the media-police nexus? The constitution of India guarantees to all its citizens the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom of assembly. But the conduct of the Kerala police is a clear indication that these rights are not to be allowed to the communists.

ALL EVIL DESIGNS

WOULD BE EXPOSED

In such a circumstance, the party is fully convinced that the investigation is moving in a wrong direction on the basis of a stage-managed plot. Hence it has no other way but to rally the people and organise protest actions against this dubious plot. Apart from this, the CPI(M) did not take any such stand as would have hampered the investigation process. The CPI(M) cooperated with the investigating team even after Onchiyam area secretary C H Ashokan was taken into police custody in a fraudulent manner. However, if the UDF takes the CPI(M)’s cooperation to be the latter’s weakness and tries to annihilate the CPI(M) by using the state powers and the police, it is certainly in the wrong and its hopes are bound to get belied. The same may be said about the anti-CPI(M) media who well know the party’s position and endeavours in this regard but are consciously propagating falsehoods in order to attack the party.

On its part, while fully cooperating with the investigation, the CPI(M) would definitely fight any move to target it on the basis of an encoded script and expose all such evil designs.