C N Balakrishnan denies link to Haneefa murder

THRISSUR: Cooperation Minister C.N. Balakrishnan, who has been  under a cloud in the wake of the murder of Congress ‘A’ leader  Haneefa at Chavakkad,  has denied any involvement in  the incident.

“The guilty should be booked and punished,”  he  told reporters here on Thursday. The minister  dismissed the allegations against him  as baseless  and  declined to respond to the charge raised by Haneefa’s  family members. 

He said he was  meeting the media as the minister for cooperation and was not interested in reacting to such issues.

Haneefa  was killed allegedly by the  rival ‘I’ faction due to the group  rivalry in the district.  It is alleged that those close to the minister  were behind the murder.

The family members of Haneefa,  including his mother,  said that the murder was committed with the knowledge of  Mr Balakrishnan, the leader of the ‘I’ group here.