The Hindu : Kerala News : Special police team to probe charges

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Friday, Jun 04, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Special police team to probe charges

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JUNE 3. The State police have constituted a special team under the Assistant Commissioner of Police (Narcotic Cell), Vakkom Prabha, to investigate the allegations mentioned in the FIR on the attack on the Congress leaders, Saratchandra Prasad and Rajmohan Unnithan, at the venue of the KPCC executive meeting in the city on Tuesday afternoon.

The police have registered a case of attempt to murder and conspiracy against 13 persons, including the former KPCC president, K. Muraleedharan, on the basis of the statement given by Mr. Prasad.

The Congress leaders, N. Venugopal, K. P. Kunhikannan and G. Rathikumar, have also been named in the First Information Report (Crime number: 195/2004) registered at the Museum police station in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

The others named in the FIR are Thamanam Shaji, who is accused in several criminal cases in Ernakulam district, Vandanoor Santosh, H. P. Shaji of Thumpa, Kazhakkuttam Jaleel, Kovalam Pradeep Kumar, Vinod Krishna of Pothencode, Siva Prakash of Ulloor, Vinod Kumar of Kasaragod and Hussien of Perumathura.

A senior official said the names in the FIR were those given by Mr. Saratchandra Prasad in his statement to the police. `Only after the investigation is over can the police say whether the persons named in the FIR were actually involved in the attack or not', he said. The case has been registered under Sections 120 (b), 143, 147,148, 149, 342, 307 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The police said efforts were also on to locate the mini-bus used by those responsible for the violence at the venue of the KPCC executive meeting.

According to the police, Mr. Saratchandra Prasad had accused Mr. Muraleedharan and others named in the FIR of hatching a conspiracy to murder him and Mr. Rajmohan Unnithan out of `political enmity'. Mr. Prasad has alleged that the `conspiracy' was hatched at room no 402 of the Government Guest House in Thycaud. The room had been let out to Mr. Muraleedharan for the past several days. In the statement, Mr. Prasad said the accused had hired goondas to carry out the attack. He said the assailants were wielding iron rods and bricks. He and Mr. Unnithan were not allowed to get out of the Maruti van (KL-01-H-9069) in which they had arrived at the venue at around 3.05 p.m. on Tuesday.

Mr. Prasad told the police that the assailants had tried to kill him by hitting him on the chest, kicking him on the lower abdomen and strangulating him with a towel. Mr. Prasad said in his statement that the attackers were asking him repeatedly whether he would `touch Murali', police officials said. In the eight-page statement to the police, Mr. Prasad has also said that nearly 100 other persons `identifiable on sight' were involved in the attack. Mr. Prasad has also mentioned the registration numbers of several motorbikes and cars in which he said the attackers had come to the venue of the KPCC meeting.

A senior official said that the police are adopting a `systematic' approach to get to the bottom of the case. ``Since several persons named in the FIR are men in public life, the police would be looking for evidence sustainable in a court of law before filing the charge sheet'', he said. The police have already questioned some staff members of the Priyadarshini Planetarium where the violent incidents took place on Tuesday afternoon.

The police are also learnt to be analysing the television footage and media pictures of the incident in order to understand the `body language' of the victims as well as the assailants. Such an analysis is being conducted in the wake of allegations from some quarters of the Congress that the incident was stage-managed to embarrass certain leaders and gain undue political advantage, an official said. Meanwhile, police security continues to be high at the residence of the former Chief Minister, K. Karunakaran, where his son, Mr. Muraleedharan also stays.

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