Kottayam: CPM leader and power minister M.M. Mani has failed to extricate himself from the Anchery Baby murder case that has been haunting him ever since he made his infamous ‘one, two, three’ speech at Thodupuzha in May 2012. The Thodupuzha additional district and session’s court on Saturday rejected his discharge petition seeking to be relieved from the list of the accused in the murder of youth Congress leader Anchery Baby in Idukki on November 13, 1982. The court allowed the petition filed by the prosecution for including three additional accused — CPM Idukki district secretary K.K. Jayachandran, former CITU Idukki district secretary A.K. Damodaran, and the late V.M. Joseph — as the 5th 6th and 7th accused in the case.
The first four accused respectively are Pampuparakuttan, M.M. Mani, O.G. Madanan and the late Varkey Abraham. Mr Mani, who is also the state secretariat member of the CPM, will have to undergo further trial in the case. According to the prosecution, five of the accused who are alive have to be present in the court for hearing on the next date. Anchery Baby, who was the Senapathy Mandalam president of the Youth Congress in Idukki, was shot dead by assailants. The Shanthanpara police registered a case and the Thodupuzha additional district and session’s court acquitted nine of the accused in 1985 citing lack of evidence.
The case was reopened after a speech made by Mr Mani on May 25, 2012 at Manakkad, Thodupuzha, maintaining that the party had systematically eliminated political rivals in the district. The Shanthanpara police arrested Mr Mani in November 2012 in a fresh case registered. Though Mr Mani went to the High Court demanding to quash the case, the court rejected it. Mr P.N. Mohandas, the CPM Udumbanchola local committee secretary in 1982, who was arraigned as the third accused in the murder of Baby, gave a statement under section 164 before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Adimaly, that Mr Mani, who was then the CPM district committee member in Idukki, and Mr K.K. Jayachandran, the then Udumbanchola area secretary had planned the murder.
His statement is considered as the main evidence in the case. The prosecution had presented 91 witnesses. Before the verdict was to be delivered, special public prosecutor Siby Chenappady demanded police protection, but it was denied. Consequently, the home department undersecretary directed the DGP to give protection to the prosecution and the witnesses.
