Rebel leader's murder: 3 CPM leaders given life term by Kerala court

New Delhi, Jan 28: Eleven people, including three

leaders, were on Tuesday given life term by a

court in connection with the

of TP Chandrasekharan, a rebel leader who was hacked to death in May, 2012. He was the president of the Revolutionary Marxist Party or RMP in CPI(M) stronghold of Onchiyam in Kozhikode after he broke away from CPI(M).

Twelve people, including a seven-member gang and the three CPM leaders, were last week found guilty in the case by the Kozhikode Special Additional Sessions Court.

Chandrasekharan had sustained 51 hack injuries on his face at the time of his death. The prosecution had argued that the leader was killed by the seven-member gang, which was hired by the CPM. Initially, there were 76 accused against whom chargesheet was filed, but the number was later dropped to 36 after the court had stayed the trial of 15 accused. Twenty two people were acquitted for lack of evidence, including former CPM Kozhikode District Secretary.

The murder case created a huge controversy in Kerala. It caused a rift within the Left front leadership. While Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan hailed him as a brave communist, CPM State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan slammed him as a traitor.

The case had 166 witnesses of which 52 turned hostile.

Oneindia News