Ariyil Shukoor murder: Huge setback for P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh, court dismisses discharge plea

KOCHI: Former CPI(M) Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan and ex-MLA TV Rajesh suffered a setback on Thursday as the special CBI court in Kochi dismissed their discharge pleas in the Ariyil Shukoor murder case. The CBI had charged both leaders with conspiracy in the case.

The lawyer who appeared for Shukoor's mother had informed the court that there were witness statements to prove that a conspiracy had taken place before the murder. The lawyer also pointed out that there were phone records, testimony and circumstantial evidence proving the role of Jayarajan and TV Rajesh in the murder.

The murder of Shukoor had sparked widespread outrage in the state. Shukoor, a local leader of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), was killed on February 20, 2012. Shukoor was murdered at Keezhara in Cherukunnu a few hours after a vehicle carrying P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh was blocked and attacked by Youth League workers at Pattuvam near Taliparamba. After conducting a mob trial, the assailants stabbed Shukoor to death in a field in Keezhara.

As per the chargesheet, CPI(M) local leaders allegedly plotted the murder at Taliparamba Cooperative Hospital, where P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh were admitted following the attack by Youth League workers. The chargesheet claims Jayarajan and Rajesh were aware of the plan to commit the murder.

It was the High Court that ordered a CBI probe into the Shukoor murder case after considering a petition filed by Shukoor's mother Athika. In the case involving 34 accused, P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh are listed as accused numbers 33 and 34, respectively.