Kannur comrades rejoice; BJP shocked

The shocked State BJP unit also termed the verdict unfortunate, and said the future course of action would be decided in consultation with legal experts. CPI(M) leaders expressed happiness at the verdict which acquitted four of the accused CPI(M) activists and commuted the death sentence on the first accused to life imprisonment.

Police in the district were forced to step up their vigil in sensitive areas to prevent any untoward incident following the Supreme Court order. Three of the accused, lodged in the central prison at Kannur, are expected to be released on Saturday.

Hundreds of CPI(M) activists gathered in front of the central prison here to congratulate their jailed comrades. The jubilant district party unit leadership earlier in the day visited the prison to communicate the apex court’s verdict to the five inmates and planned to hold a ‘victory rally’ and to accord a rousing reception soon after they were released.

However, police said the orders for the release of four of the inmates, of whom one is serving life term imprisonment in another case, had not reached due to some technical reasons and the release could be delayed on that count.

State BJP president PK Krishnadas said in a statement in Thiruvananthapuram that the Supreme Court verdict would cause several controversies. He said the police had in the very beginning found ways to let the accused escape. He said his party strongly suspected that the prosecution had acted reluctantly so that the accused could be freed.

Kannur MLA K Sudhakaran, who also termed the verdict unfortunate, warned that a possibility of law and order returning to Kannur could not be ruled out.

He pointed out that the verdict by the Thalassery Fast Track Court that awarded death sentence to all the five Marxists and the move by the High Court to uphold that verdict had brought some fear for the law into Kannur district. Sudhakaran feared that the apex court verdict could lead to disruption of the peace.

State Yuva Morcha president K Surendran alleged that the Government pleader had presented weak arguments to ensure the release of the accused. He said that several CPI(M) leaders “who had participated in the conspiracy to assassinate Jayakrishnan were now in top posts of the CPI(M) and in the State Cabinet. So, it was not difficult for the Marxist party to influence the prosecution arguments, he added.