Kochi, 28 Oct (H.S.): A special CBI court in Kochi will pronounce its verdict on November 12 in the Ariyil Shukoor murder case, in which CPI(M) leaders P. Jayarajan and T.V. Rajesh are among the accused. Trial proceedings in the case have been completed.

Ariyil Abdul Shukoor, an activist of the Muslim Students Federation (MSF), was killed on February 20, 2012. The case centres on allegations that he was detained in a field at Chulliyode in Kannur’s Taliparamba area, subjected to a purported “trial” and subsequently murdered.

According to the CBI, the killing was carried out in retaliation for an attack on Jayarajan, who was the CPI(M)’s Kannur district secretary at the time. The agency has alleged that the murder was planned as an act of revenge for that incident.

The case has 33 accused, with Jayarajan listed as the 32nd accused and Rajesh as the 33rd. Two of the accused died during the course of the trial. The charges against the two CPI(M) leaders include criminal conspiracy in connection with the killing.

In its chargesheet, the CBI alleged that Jayarajan, Rajesh and other leaders conspired at a cooperative hospital to plan Shukoor’s murder. The alleged hospital meeting forms a key part of the agency’s account of how the killing was organised.

The prosecution’s case thus links the attack on Jayarajan, the alleged conspiracy at the hospital and Shukoor’s subsequent killing. These remain allegations on which the court is yet to deliver its findings.

With the trial now concluded, the November 12 verdict will determine whether the prosecution has established the charges against the surviving accused. The judgment will mark a significant stage in a case involving both those accused of carrying out the killing and leaders alleged by the CBI to have participated in the conspiracy that preceded Shukoor’s death in February 2012.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman