Antony "prime accused" in Marad riots: CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 4: Lashing out at the former Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Government for the Marad communal riots in 2003, Communist Party of India (Marxist) today said former Chief Minister A K Antony is the ''prime accused'' as per the Marad judicial probe report.

Talking to newspersons here, CPI (M) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said that after the first Marad killings in 2001, Mr Antony, who was also holding the Home portfolio, had ignored intelligence reports of more violence in that place and had not taken necessary steps. Noting that Mr Antony was solely responsible for the communal violence in Marad, he said that it was absurd on the part of the former Chief Minister to have demanded an apology from him and his party for the whole incident. He asked, how could Antony say Pinarayi and his party should apologise when the commission itself had said that the lapses on the part of the UDF government led to the massacre. On the commission's findings that the CPI(M) was involved in the first Marad massacre, Mr Vijayan said the commission had reached such a conclusion only because some of the activists were named as accused in the first riots.

The case against the CPI(M) activists was actually fabricated and Mr Antony's Home Ministry had supported this, he said, and added delay in filing the charge sheet only showed this. The CPI(M) activists were engaged in spreading brotherhood and in maintaining peace and harmony, he said. He read from the commission report, ''there is no direct evidence that the CPI(M) as a party was involved in the first massacre''. Then how was it that CPI(M) and its secretary should apologise? he asked. Mr Vijayan said the violence was due to the delay in prosecuting the accused in the first riot.

The report said the delay in prosecuting the accused in the first riot helped the fundamentalist elements to ignite the fire of revenge in the minds of close relatives of the victims of the first riot. The judicial probe also noted the involvement of the National Development Front (NDF) and the Indian Union Muslim League, a constituent of the UDF in planning and execution of the massacre. The report said, the local IUML leader P P Moideen Koya was either involved in the conspiracy or had prior information about the conspiracy and impending violence.

Another leader of the same party Mayin Haji (who was also Chairman of the Kozhikode Development Authority) too had prior information about the conspiracy, it added. Mr Vijayan alleged that all this points at the then ruling front and not others. He said the Commission also named four top officials - Kozhikode District Collector, Commissioner of Police, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Inspector-General of Police (Crimes) for having failed to take timely action to prevent the riot. All these officials were under Mr Antony, who was also holding the Home portfolio, he added.

He also alleged that the probe report also noted that the junior officials had refused to take action as per the orders of their seniors. This only showed the weakness of the previous Government, he added. Moreover, the commission had blamed that the civil administration and the police force were not in good terms, he said. This shows that the UDF government was a failure and they were also a part of the massacre, he added. On reports of 'FM', the hawala dealer mentioned in the Judicial Commission report, having funded the riots, Mr Vijayan alleged that Mr Antony might have known about this ''FM'' as it might have been mentioned in the Intelligence report. It was a failure on the part of Mr Antony, not to have inquired about this 'FM' if he had prior information about this, he alleged.

UNI