KOCHI: Hearings on the appeals filed by the accused, the government and KK Rema MLA in the TP Chandrasekaran murder case began in the High Court on Monday. The division bench comprising of Justice AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Dr Kauser Edappagath is considering the appeal filed by 12 accused against the sentence, the government's appeal to give the maximum punishment to the accused, and the appeal filed by KK Rema against the acquittal of CPM leader P Mohan and others in the case.

The senior counsel appearing for the first accused Kannur native MC Anoop alleged that the FIR of the TP murder case does not mention the exact number of accused and many were included as accused in the case due to conspiracy. RMP founder leader TP Chandrasekaran was hacked to death by a gang on May 4, 2012 at Vallikadu near Vadakara. The case is that the accused, who are CPM members, hacked Chandrasekaran to death because of a grudge against him for leaving the CPM and forming a party called RMP. Advocate P Kumarankutty has been appointed by the government as special prosecutor in the case on the application of TP Chandrasekaran's wife KK Rema.

12 people convicted

MC Anoop, Kirmani Manoj, Kodi Suni, TK Rajish, Mohammad Shafi, Annan Sijith, K Shinoj, KC Ramachandran, Trouser Manoj, PK Kunjananthan, who was a member of CPM Panoor area committee, Vayappadachi Rafeeq were sentenced to life imprisonment and fined for three years in the TP murder case. In 2014, the trial court sentenced him to one year of rigorous imprisonment. PK Kunjananthan died in June 2020 while serving his prison sentence. In the case where there were 36 accused, 24 people, including CPM leader P Mohanan, were acquitted.