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Three prison officials suspended for granting remission to TP Chandrasekharan murder convicts

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Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Thursday suspended three prison officials, including the deputy superintendent of Kannur jail, for including three convicts in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case in the list of prisoners eligible for parole.

Assistant Superintendent of Jail S. Sreejith, holding the post of Superintendent of Jail, Kannur Central Jail, Assistant Superintendent of Jail (Grade 1) PG Arun and Assistant Jailer Gopi Raghunath have been suspended following an order issued by the Chief Minister’s Office.

The prison administration’s decision to initiate proceedings to award special punishment to those convicted in the TP Chandrashekharan murder case sparked major political controversy in Kerala.

The process began with the Superintendent of Kannur Jail writing to the Kannur City Police Commissioner on June 13, asking for a report on the matter.

The letter, which referred to a government order of 2022 and was addressed to the Commissioner, proposed special pardon for 58 convicts, including TK Rajeesh (fourth accused), KK Muhammed Shafi (fifth accused) and Annan Sijith (sixth accused) involved in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case. It also demanded an expedited investigation report after interviewing the relatives, friends and victims of the convicts.

TP Chandrasekharan, 52, was brutally murdered by the gang near Onchiyam on the night of May 4, 2012, while he was returning home on his motorcycle. His body bore 51 hack wounds and the attackers completely disfigured his face.

Chandrasekharan was a former CPM leader who was expelled from the party in 2008 for alleged anti-party activities. He then founded the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP).

In February, the Kerala High Court sentenced all 12 accused in the TP Chandrasekharan murder case to life imprisonment. Nine of them, including Rajeesh, Muhammed Shafi and Annan Sijith, were given life imprisonment without reprieve for the next 20 years.

The names of the prisoners convicted for the murder of TP Chandrasekharan were included in a special remission list as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. According to reports, prison authorities across the country were instructed to compile a list of prisoners eligible for special remission. As a result, many prisoners who had been incarcerated for over a decade were automatically included in this list.

However, special forgiveness under the Amrit Mahotsav programme does not apply to prisoners convicted of death penalty, life imprisonment, rape, terrorism, dowry murder and money laundering.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Minister MB Rajesh said an inquiry would be launched to ascertain whether any government officials had interfered in the matter at the behest of the opposition parties. The government has not yet taken any decision to grant remission to the said convicts, so an inquiry must be made as to why the matter was raised in this manner, he told media persons.

The state government’s action, which is based on a court order prescribing a life sentence of 20 years without remission, had drawn sharp criticism from both TP Chandrashekharan’s widow KK Rema and the opposition Congress-led UDF.

The issue had rocked the Kerala Assembly after Speaker AN Shamsheer Rema refused permission to move a motion to adjourn the session on the issue.

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