The ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday distanced itself from the controversial social media post by one of its former leaders Akash Thillankery, who claimed that he had carried out violent activities including a murder at the instance of party leaders.
Thillankery, a former leader of the CPI(M)’s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), is the main accused in the murder of Youth Congress leader S P Shuhaib in Kannur in 2018, and he is out on bail in the case.
CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan said in Kannur that Thillankery belonged to a criminal gang and the party was not obliged to respond to his wild remarks. “He was expelled from the party many years ago and now he is part of a criminal gang. We have nothing to do with him. Police will handle cases against him,” he said.
In a Facebook post two days ago, Thillankery said, “Local party leaders in Mattanur (Kannur) made us carry out the murder. If we open our mouths, many of them will not be able to walk in the open. Those who have given calls for killing were given jobs in co-operative banks and those who carried out the order have been pushed into poverty and thrown out of the party.”
Kannur district in north Kerala is infamous for the violent clashes between the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the CPI (M) that have led to over 200 political murders in three decades.
According to political observers, the criminals who indulge in political violence later turn to illegal activities like gold smuggling and contract killing and parties usually disown them when they turn a big liability for them.
“When the party denounced us we had to turn to gold smuggling for our survival. No one from the party had tried to stop or correct us. Now I have lost patience and come in the open so that people know the facts,” Thillankery said in his post.
There have been fiery exchanges between Thillankery and DYFI leaders for the last two days and two cases have been registered against him for obscene comments against some women leaders and threatening some DYFI leaders.
While the police were on a hot chase, Thillankery and two of his associates appeared before a court in Kannur on Friday and obtained a pre-arrest bail.
After Thillankery’s Facebook post, the Congress has sought a fresh inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Shuhaib murder case.
“It seems the CPI(M) is reduced to a terror outfit. Its killer gangs are spilling beans now,” said leader of the Opposition, V D Satheesan.