CPM leader 'abuses' police team in Kerala

In another embarrassment for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), a party state committee member M V Jayarajan reportedly abused a special police team questioning his namesake, the Kannur district CPM secretary, in connection with the murder of an India Union Muslim League activist on February 20.

Jayarajan reportedly used filthy language against the team and threatened a deputy superintendent of police when he was asked to wait outside a room in a guest house while they questioned P Jayarajan.

However, he denied the charge and said he had only asked them if it was right on their part to resort to 'third degree' methods on 'innocent' party activists taken for questioning to get information.

Police later registered a case against M V Jayarajan under Section 117(E) and 294(B) for threatening and using abusive language.

Earlier, on his arrival, the Kannur CPM district secretary alleged that efforts are on implicate party leaders from this town in the case at the behest of IUML.

He refused to answer queries from reporters on what he had been asked during questioning.

The police case is that Shukkoor was hacked to death allegedly by CPI(M) workers at Keezhara on February 20 last in retaliation for an attack on P Jayarajan and T V Rajesh, MLA during their visit to Ariyil in the district on the same day.

Police had served notice on Jayarajan on July 1 to appear before it on July 9, after he had expressed inability to be present before the team for the statement taking in june.

On June 12 police had taken a statement from Jayarajan.

Though Rajesh was also served notice to appear before the team, the MLA had informed them he could not so till the assembly session was over on July 31.

The party has been on the defensive after the murder of Marxist rebel T P Chandrasekharan on May 4, in which several CPM activists have been arrested and the controversial speech of senior functionary M M Mani's that the party in Idukki district in the 1980s drew up a list of rivals to be eliminated and killed three of them.