The shocking revelation that the main accused in the sensational TP Chandrasekharan murder case In Kerala were active on Facebook using smartphones from a jail in Kozhikkode has plunged the Congress-led government into a deep law-and-order embarrassment.
It has also set new standards for the audacity of criminals, ostensibly strong supporters of the CPM and DYFI, and their luxurious life in jail. TV channels in the state on Monday showed Facebook pages of most of the main accused, allegedly members of a gang of contract killers from northern Kerala, that have been frequently updated from the jail. One of them was updated as recent as yesterday.
A cursory examination of the pages show that their presence on Facebook had been unhindered and they had access to fast internet connection. The gang-members shared photos from the jail, liked and shared the pages and messages of their friends. In a telling image, one of the accused is wearing a sun-glass and is talking on a cellphone. In another, an accused is holding a cigarette.
All of them have a lot of “red” and revolutionary fervour in their pages and messages. They hail the CPM, its leadership, and the all time favourite mascot of communists, Che Guevara. The symbolism of “red” appears to be so important to them – in one picture, one of the accused is wearing a branded green T-shirt, to which a “friend” is asking him to wear “red”. Some of the messages are open threats to people opposed to their party while some hail martyrs.
The Facebook pages of the gang-members are a cold reminder of the collapse of law and order in the state and the brutal authority that the party wields over the government machinery in northern Kerala. That the alleged executioners of the most sensational political murder, that shook the conscience of the state like no other incident in recent times, were allowed to live a free and luxurious life in jail is a direct threat to public order and civil life.
The new revelation is significant in view of the fact that a large number of witnesses have turned hostile in the case, apparently under threat and pressure. This Facebook expose clearly shows that: The alleged criminals have a free run in the jail that even the authorities are unable to control despite repeated claims by the state government; They have access to anything they want.
Besides smart phones, allegedly, these criminals also get a regular supply of booze; They are very strong supporters of the CPM and DYFI and they justify killing for the party although the latter maintain that they have nothing to do with the murder; The CPM leadership has been on the dock for the murder of Chandrasekharan right from the beginning because he was a strong dissident of the party and was determined to create an alternative left movement in the state.
Several local functionaries of the party were arrested in connection with the case and some, including the husband of a CPM MLA, are still in jail. The CPM, however, maintained that they were not involved in the murder, with a rider that the party would take action if anybody was found to be involved. Party general secretary Prakash Karat endorsed the state leadership’s stance on more than one occasion.
However, VS Achuthanandan, former chief minister and opposition leader, was not willing to give his party a clean chit and even insinuated the involvement of the party. The disclosure is a huge moral setback to the family of the slain leader. His wife KK Rema today expressed distress and shock and said that the privilege that the accused criminals enjoyed smacked of a pact between the CPM and the Congress-led government.
The state home minister, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, who is otherwise caught in the factional feud within the Congress, said that he would visit the jail tomorrow to get a hands-on update on the situation. Voices within the Congress as well as from the coalition partners have charged the minister with serious dereliction of duty. Jail authorities have raided the jail, but have found nothing so far.
A few weeks ago, another key accused in the case, a local CPM leader was allowed by the police to meet with his wife for an hour at a restaurant when he was taken out for a medical examination. Criminals having a free-run in jails is a typical Indian story, but them having a free-run on Facebook from jails is certainly unique to Kerala. It’s another jewel in the crown of the Kerala model of development.
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