Decode Politics: Why Pinarayi govt is again grappling with 12-year-old murder of a CPM rebel

The sensational 2012 murder of rebel CPI(M) leader and Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) founder T P Chandrasekharan seems to be back to haunt the party 12 years later, this time over the Kerala government’s alleged bid to grant remission to the four convicts in the case despite a Kerala High Court order prohibiting the grant of parole.

Though the Pinarayi Vijayan government has backtracked on the move, the series of incidents leading up to it have provided ammunition to the Opposition, which has claimed “the ruling party’s concern” for the convicted people has been “exposed”.

What is the case?

Chandrasekharan, a rebel CPI(M) leader from the Left stronghold of Vadakara in North Kerala who quit the party in 2008, was hacked to death by a seven-member gang following repeated electoral setbacks for the Left in the region and following the RMP’s foray into the electoral scene.

A trial court in 2014 convicted 12 for the murder, including three local CPI(M) leaders, and awarded life terms to all except one, while acquitting two others.

In February, the Kerala High Court upgraded the quantum of punishment to two life terms for nine of the convicts, while quashing the acquittal of K K Krishnan and Geothi Babu, both CPI(M) leaders, and awarded them life imprisonment.

What are the events that led to the outrage?

The Vijayan government recentlydecided to grant remission to some convicts from across the state on the occasion of Independence Day. DGP (Prisons) Balram Kumar Upadhyay compiled a list for this, which was found to have “ineligible persons”, following which the state Home Department, on June 3, asked the DGP to compile a fresh list sticking to the norms. This prompted jail authorities to start the process of procuring probation