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Stoic ex-cop waits for his punishment

The confession of retired police constable P Ramachandran Nair that he shot dead Naxalite leader Varghese on February 18, 1970 has rocked Kerala -- but Nair remains calm, willing to face the consequences.

On the Kerala high court's direction, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code against Nair, R K Lekshmana, the former inspector general of police, and Vijayan, the former additional deputy inspector general of police.

Nair, who was a Central Reserve Police Force constable, had revealed that he shot Varghese on then Deputy Superintendent of Police Lekshmana's order.

Nair categorically stated that he would neither seek an anticipatory bail nor plead for bail in case he was arrested, or engage any advocate to argue his case since he was facing a heavy financial crisis.

"I have full faith in the court and am waiting for the verdict whatever it may be," he told a visiting correspondent at his residence near Pathananpuram in Kollam district.

Varghese was taken into custody at 0650 hours on February 18, 1970.

According to Nair, Lekshmana and Vijayan questioned Varghese for over 12 hours. When Lekshmana threatened that would not see the next morning, Varghese replied that if one Varghese died, a thousand Vargheses would rise to take his place.

He said when the police officers ordered him to shoot Varghese, he had suggested that it would be better to produce the Naxal before the court. But Lekshmana threatened that a police constable also would die along with Varghese if he refused to obey orders. Being a disciplined constable, Nair shot Varghese on the left chest with a .303 rifle at 1855 hours.

Later, the police created the scene of a fake encounter. Hanifa, another constable, fired one round in the air. Several more rounds were fired using a country-made gun, which was the placed in Varghese's hands, Nair added.

Stating that his mind could never justify the action in the name of "discipline", he said he had disclosed the crime to his wife, children and close friends but could not go public till his retirement in 1998.

However, when Nair and a few of his departmental associates tried to form police association in 1977 at Kozhikode they had consulted many political leaders and Vasu, a popular Naxalite leader and a close companion of Varghese. Then he had confessed about his role in the "death" of Varghese. He gave a note to Vasu to pursue the matter but nothing had happened till 1998.

UNI

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