Politics
Kerala High Court Acquits 13 RSS Workers In Murder Case Of CPI(M) Activist
- The Kerala HC observed that the eyewitnesses were tutored, the evidence was exaggerated, and RSS workers were picked up arbitrarily without any corroborative evidence.
Kerala High Court
Kerala High Court acquitted all 13 RSS workers accused in the murder of CPI(M) activist, VV Vishnu, in Thiruvananthapuram in 2008.
On 16 December 2016, the Additional Sessions court sentenced RSS workers to double life imprisonment in connection with the murder of the CPI(M) worker.
The acquitted are T Santhosh of Kaithamukku; Manoj alias Kakkotta Manoj; Binukumar and Harilal of Keraladityapuram; Renjith Kumar of Manacaud; Balu Mahendran of Malappirikkonam; Vipin of Anayara; Satheesh Kumar of Kudavoor; Bose of Pettah; Manikantan of Vattiyoorkavu; Vinod Kumar of Chenchri; Subash of Sreekariyam; and Sivalal of Karikkakam.
Conspiracy Against the RSS Workers
The High Court overturned Session Court’s verdict.
A bench compromising of Justices K Vinod Chandran and C Jayachandran, passed an order observing that the attempts were made to tutor witnesses and collect evidence, to define a scripted story.
It added, “The eye-witness testimonies are incredulous, the identification unbelievable, the recoveries unsubstantiated and the seizures leading to nothing. There is absolutely no evidence worth its salt, and the prosecution failed to prove any corroborative circumstance, but for the political rivalry existing between two groups.”
Kerala High Court’s Observations
There were omissions and contradictions in the eyewitness accounts. Many of the witnesses turned hostile. Three investigating officers were changed in quick succession within a period of five months.
Four of the accused were arrested without any evidence of their involvement. The documents relating to their arrest have not been submitted in the Court.
Attempt to Paint RSS as Equal Aggressor
The prosecution presented the case as a vendetta killing by RSS workers, who have been embroiled in violent clashes with the CPI(M) since 2001.
However, the way the false case was built is indicative of the deep-seated conspiracy to show RSS as an equal aggressor to the CPI(M), which has been a strong political force in the state.
For years, the narrative has been built that the political conflict between two warring ideological organisations is not tilted in anyone’s favour. The violence inflicted on each side is reactionary and of equal measure, even when the Left is politically powerful and has control over the state’s institutions.
This has made people immune to the reports of RSS workers in Kerala being killed, terming the murders as part of “routine political violence”.
