Kerala court declines to quash criminal charges against 2 CPM leaders in 2012 murder case

A special CBI court in Ernakulam declined to quash the criminal proceedings against senior CPI(M) leaders P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh on Thursday in the 2012 murder case of Ariyil Abdul Shukoor, an activist of IUML student wing Muslim Students Federation (MSF).
The court rejected the discharge pleas filed by the two leaders upon finding that there was evidence against them in the case probed by the central agency. The pleas were filed in January 2023 and opposed by Shukoor’s mother, Athikka, in court.
Jayarajan and Rajesh, the 32nd and 33rd accused in the case respectively, have been charged with criminal conspiracy. With their discharge pleas dismissed, both of them will face trial in the case.
Shukoor, an activist of MSF which is the student wing of Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), was stabbed to death near Kannapuram in Kannur district of Kerala on Feb 20, 2012 allegedly by CPM workers in retaliation for participating in an attack on a convoy of vehicles carrying Jayarajan and Rajesh, then CPM’s Kannur district secretary and MLA from Kalliassery, respectively.
The prosecution in the case had alleged that Shukoor was caught and interrogated by a mob for over two hours to confirm his identity and participation in the attack on the CPM convoy. The conspiracy to kill Shukoor was hatched at a cooperate hospital in Thaliparamba where Jayarajan and Rajesh were present, the CBI claimed.
In a short statement on Facebook, Jayarajan said he would “consult with legal experts” before deciding the next course of action.
IUML leader KM Shaji said, “We are happy that we were able to cast light through legal process on the role of Jayarajan and Rajesh in ordering a hit on Shukoor. We had earlier taken the stand that those who ordered the murder should also be prosecuted rather than those who had taken a direct role in the murder.”