Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan countered the accusation that the party’s Kannur leadership had ordered the killing of Youth Congress worker P.V. Shuhaib at Mattannur in 2018.
The high-profile political crime had returned to bedevil the party after Akash Thillankeri, an expelled CPI(M) worker and the prime accused in the case, insinuated in a social media post that the local party leadership had prior knowledge of the killing.
Mr. Thillankeri had recently fallen out with the leadership, stating that the CPI(M) had abandoned foot soldiers like him. He alleged that several CPI(M) activists in Kannur turned to crime after the party disowned them.
At the same time, Mr. Thillankeri alleged that the CPI(M) protected and succoured the leaders who initiated such actions remotely and without any legal jeopardy or fear of retaliation.
Of late, Mr. Thillankeri had acquired an outsize social media profile for his outbursts against the CPI(M) and veiled threats to reveal more about the criminal conspiracy behind political killings in Kannur.
Didn’t scuttle CBI probe move
Without naming Mr. Thillankeri, Mr. Govindan said it was pitiable that the Opposition parties had found a common cause with a person with a criminal background to raise unsubstantiated charges against the CPI(M). He denied charges that the CPI(M)-led government had repeatedly attempted to stonewall an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into Shuhaib’s murder.
The Congress and the BJP had highlighted Mr. Thillankeri’s politically explosive accusations as an indication of the rot within the CPI(M).
Both parties sought to depict the CPI(M) as an organisation that gave cover to criminals and profited from illegal activities. The Congress has demanded a CBI inquiry into Shuhaib’s murder.
Earlier, CPI(M) Kannur district secretary M.V. Jayarajan had also rejected Mr. Thillankeri’s allegations. He said the CPI(M) worked within the ambit of the rule of law.
Meanwhile, Mr. Thillankeri and two others surrendered before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Mattannur in a defamation case filed by a woman DYFI leader. The petitioner said that Mr. Thillankeri and others had launched a vicious name and shame-social media campaign against her after she rejected their attacks on the CPI(M).
The Congress and the BJP have criticised the police for not arresting Mr. Thillankeri and giving him room to surrender and get bail.
