Government to reopen political murder cases: CM

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Once the Neyyatinkara bypoll is over, the state government is gearing up to reinvestigate various political murder cases across the state, wherever fresh evidence is coming up, with the sanction of  the court. Confirming this to ‘Express,’  Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that it has become the top priority of  the government.  He also admitted that the UDF governments, including the one presided over by him, had failed in finding out the truth  in many cases of yesteryear.The move is apparently aimed to unravel the  truth in the cases involving  CPM leaders and cadre in the context of the startling revelations made CPM Idukki district secretary M M Mani  last week on `listed killings’ and the suspected role of  the party in the brutal murder of  RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan. Chandy said that though everyone is aware of  the CPM’s role in many killings, the brutality behind many murders as revealed now is beyond imagination. “We never expected that the CPM could act in such a cruel fashion as revealed by  M M Mani.  How public men could don such a posture?” he wondered.     “Already, the CPM has become answerable in the brutal murder of  Chandrasekharan. Irrespective of politics, the  people in the state are longing to find the masterminds and killers involved,” he said.While he was admitting that the UDF governments had failed in digging out the truth in many political murders, it also showed that there was no witch-hunt. But now  it has become clear that deep conspiracy is behind a CPM-spearheaded  murder. “It is understandable if a person is killed after clashes and tension. Many murders seem  to have not happened in that manner,” he  noted. “Most of  the murders mentioned by Mani happened when the UDF government was in power. I’ve gone through many cases in Idukki personally and helped families of  many victims,” he said.   On the general perception that the real mastermind and conspirators in the Onchiyam murder case may not be touched by sleuths, Chandy said that it is going to be a thing of  the past. “ How can anyone in the government or political parties collude with such persons now when the public is awaiting results to see to it that  the politics of  violence is put to an end,” he said. He is closely monitoring the developments related to the Onchiyam case.