Parole for murder case convict triggers fresh political row in Kerala

PTI, Dec 30, 2024, 7:20 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The parole granted to Kodi Suni, a convict in the sensational T P Chandrasekharan murder case of 2012, has sparked a fresh political row in Kerala. On Monday, the opposition Congress-UDF alleged that the Left government’s decision is an open challenge to the legal system and the rule of law.

Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader Chandrasekharan was brutally hacked to death at Onchiyam in Kozhikode district on May 4, 2012, by a gang of assailants, with leaders of the ruling CPI(M) facing allegations of conspiracy in the incident.

Kodi Suni, one of the convicts in the murder case and currently lodged in Tavanur prison, was granted parole for 30 days by the jail DGP based on a recommendation from the Kerala State Human Rights Commission.

Suni was reportedly released on parole on December 28, marking the first time in six years that he had been granted parole.

Considering a complaint lodged by the convict’s mother, the Human Rights Commission recently issued an order noting that the privilege to grant parole to inmates based on police reports is entrusted to the government.

The Human Rights Commission cannot issue an order granting parole or make a recommendation for the same, the order said.

However, the Commission, in its order, recommended that the Director of Prisons and Correctional Services examine whether a “human angle” should be considered in the matter.

K Byjunath, a judicial member of the Human Rights Commission, also pointed out in the order that Suni’s mother had pleaded that her son had not been granted parole for the last six years and had been given parole for only 60 days in 12 years.

However, the parole granted to Kodi Suni was protested by the Congress-led UDF and Chandrasekharan’s widow, K K Rema MLA, who suspects the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his “coterie” behind the move.

“What assurance does the Home Department have that he will not engage in crime during his parole period? It is a shame for Kerala that a government, elected by the people, is becoming the protector of criminals,” opposition leader V D Satheesan said.

The government’s decision to grant a month-long parole to Suni was a blatant challenge to the legal system and the rule of law, he alleged in a statement.

“It was suspected that there was a conspiracy with the knowledge of the CPI(M) top leadership behind the granting of parole,” Satheesan charged.

It was mysterious that a habitual offender was granted a month’s parole because his mother was ill, the LoP added.

Chandrasekharan (52) was hacked to death by a gang while he was returning home on his bike.

The then United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala constituted a special investigation team to probe the case.

The Kozhikode Additional Sessions Court had in 2014 sentenced 11 accused to life imprisonment and awarded a three-year jail term to another accused, Lambu Pradeep.

The convicted included CPI(M) local leaders K C Ramachandran and the late P K Kunhanandan.