KANNUR: The Thalassery district and sessions court has permitted the CBI to quiz CPM district secretary P. Jayarajan for three days in the Kathirur Manoj murder case. But the court dismissed the CBI’s plea to get Mr Jayarajan under its custody.
Judge V.G. Anilkumar said that the probe agency could interrogate the CPM leader at either Kozhikode government medical college hospital (MCH) or the Kannur central jail. “The agency can question Jayarajan for three days from March 9 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m,” the court said after vetting the medical reports.
The reports were from Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology in Thiruvananthapuram and MCH. At present, Mr Jayarajan is undergoing treatment at MCH.
But the court rejected Mr Jayarajan’s advocate P. Vishwan’s plea to have the presence of a physician and an advocate while questioning. Meanwhile, it is not clear whether the CBI would quiz him without getting him under their complete custody.
Kannur jail superintendent Asokan Arippa was asked to make all necessary arrangements for the interrogation. He told DC that Mr Jayarajan would be discharged from MCH on Wednesday and taken back to the jail and the quizzing would take place there. The CBI may again approach the ourt seeking the CPM leader’s custody.
