Kottayam: Kerala CPM leader and power minister M.M. Mani has failed to extricate himself from the Anchery Baby murder case that has been haunting him ever since he made his infamous “one, two, three” speech at Thodupuzha in May 2012.
The Thodupuzha additional district and sessions court on Saturday rejected his discharge petition seeking to be relieved from the list of the accused in the murder of youth Congress leader Anchery Baby in Idukki on November 13, 1982. The court allowed the petition filed by the prosecution for including three additional accused — CPM Idukki district secretary K.K. Jayachandran, former Citu Idukki district secretary A.K. Damodaran and the late V.M. Joseph. Mr Mani, who is also the state secretariat member of the CPM, will have to undergo further trial in the case.
Anchery Baby, who was the Senapathy Mandalam president of the Youth Congress in Idukki, was shot dead by assailants. The Shanthanpara police registered a case and the Thodupuzha additional district and session’s court acquitted nine of the accused in 1985 citing lack of evidence.
The case was reopened after a speech made by Mr Mani on May 25, 2012 at Manakkad, Thodupuzha, maintaining that the party had systematically eliminated political rivals in the district.
The Shanthanpara police arrested Mr Mani in November 2012 in a fresh case registered. While Congress and BJP lost no time in demanding that Mani resign immediately or be sacked by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the state unit of the CPI-M, heading the LDF regime, rallied behind him, saying it was “politically motivated”.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said Mr Mani need not resign in the wake of the court’s rejection of his discharge petition in Anchery Baby murder case. “The party had already taken up these cases against Mr Mani. We are prepared to fight legally. Whether to face the trial or file an appeal in the high court over this Thodupuzha court order will be finalised after consultations with legal experts,” the CPM leader added.
“The demand is ‘politically motivated... The case existed when Mr Mani contested the state Assembly elections. There is nothing new in the court verdict. The demand for his resignation has no basis and he can continue as Minister,” Mr Balakrishnan said in Thrissur.
