Kerala: Court grants anticipatory bail to Congress MLA, party leaders in suicide case

Wayanad, Jan 18 Sulthan Bathery Congress MLA I.C. Balakrishnan and Wayanad district Congress president N.D. Appachan and local party leader K.K. Gopinathan on Saturday got anticipatory bail in a suicide abetment case of the treasurer of the party N.M. Vijayan and his son who committed suicide.

The Crime Branch and the Vigilance wing of the Kerala Police have both probed this case and hence the Congress leadership was anxious to hear the verdict from the court.

The court which had heard their plea on January 17th had directed the police not to arrest till the court disposes the plea. The court after granting bail told the three leaders to see that they should present themselves before the probe officials whenever asked and should not influence the case in any manner.

Balakrishnan said he will abide by the court directive and since he has done no wrong he does not have any fears.

Reacting to the verdict Appachan said he is very clear and confident that he has done no wrong at all.

“Since we were not confident about how the police would act as was seen in recent times so decided to stay away and now I will return to Wayanad on Sunday. I really don’t know how my name was included as we were very good friends and party colleagues for the past five decades,” said Appachan.

N.M. Vijayan and his son were found dead at their home, with a suicide note alleging that funds collected from various candidates for appointments in cooperative banks had been misappropriated.

The note named Congress leaders, including Balakrishnan, Appachan, and Gopinathan, as recipients of these funds and mentioned loans taken to repay the misused amounts.

The suicide note, addressed to Congress leaders, instructed N.M. Vijayan’s son, Vijesh, delivered it to the Wayanad district police chief after ten days. The surfacing of the letter prompted demands from CPI-M leaders for the immediate arrest of the Congress leaders.

The entire Congress top brass was moving cautiously in this case as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the Home Minister, directed swift police action, leading to the registration of an FIR against the Congress leaders.

It is believed to be a retaliatory move after the Congress had earlier demanded accountability from CPI-M leader and Kannur District Panchayat president P.P. Divya for the suicide of Kannur Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu in October.

Under pressure, Divya had resigned, was denied anticipatory bail, and spent some time in jail before being released on bail. The CPI-M and Chief Minister Vijayan argue that the same "abetment of suicide" charge applies to Balakrishnan and Appachan.

Wayanad Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi’s visit to the constituency was also kept on hold and now with the court granting relief, she is expected to visit her constituency soon.

Source: IANS