Kodi Suni, one of the convicts in the sensational T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case of 2012, walked out of the Thavanur Central Jail on a month-long parole on Saturday, sparking a controversy over his release in spite of a damning police report against him.
Suni was given parole for a month following the intervention of the State Human Rights Commission in the wake of an appeal by his mother. Commission judicial member K. Baijunath, while considering the appeal of Suni’s mother, asked the Director General of Prisons and Corrective Services to examine whether parole could be granted on humanitarian grounds.
Although the police had taken a firm stand against giving parole to Suni because of his involvement in many criminal cases, the jail DGP decided to grant him parole for a month on the basis of the rights commission’s letter.
Chandrasekharan’s widow and Vadakara MLA K.K. Rema described the parole as unusual and unwarranted. She suspected the involvement of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan behind the move.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that granting a month’s parole to a person with a notorious criminal history was a blatant challenge to the legal system. Alleging the involvement of top CPI(M) leadership behind the move, Mr. Satheesan said: “What assurance does the Home department have that he will not resort to any criminal activity during his parole period? It is a shame that the State government is becoming a protector of criminals,” he said.
Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrasekharan was hacked to death at Onchiyam on May 4, 2012, by a gang while he was returning home on his bike. Suni was among the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment by the Additional Sessions Court, Kozhikode, in 2014.
Published – December 30, 2024 08:45 pm IST
