Thursday, January 15, 2009

Marad carnage: Life sentence for 62 convicts

The Special court in Kozhikode, Kerala sentenced 62 of the 63 convicts in the May 2003 Marad carnage case to life imprisonment. In May 2003, A group of Hindu fishermen sitting on the beach near a temple is attacked suddenly, without provocation or warning, by a mob of Muslims armed with swords. After a chaotic ten minutes, nine people are dead or bleeding to death on the beach. Many are seriously wounded. The attackers vanish into the night.

The police commissioner, TK Vinod Kumar later stated:

"It was an operation carried out by a well-knit organisation. It was a quick and sudden attack which was over in 10 minutes. The attack came from a particular community.

Crime Branch Inspector General of Police, Mahesh Kumar Singhla later confirmed that most of those arrested included the activists of the NDF, the IUML and the CPI-M.

Report of the Marad Carnage Inquiry Commission, headed by Justice Thomas P Joseph, said the then state government had failed to protect the lives of innocent citizens and "unjustifiably" refused a CBI inquiry after 14 fishermen were killed in Kozhikode by armed mobs. The role of Islamic organisation National Democratic Front and IUML has also come under the commission's scanner. Two IUML leaders — Mayin Haji and Moydeen Koya — are named as active accessories to the carnage. Many of those who gave evidence to the commission said IUML leaders, particularly P K Kunhalikutty and E Ahmed, were protecting the violators.

Inspite of commissions finding neither Congress & IUML Led UDF nor CPM led LDF has taken any actions to punish the masterminds.

During last assembly election, NDF activists were seen actively campaigning for Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Some CPM veterans admit they played vote bank politics. T K Hamsa , CPM MP says

“We are a democratic party and we have all the right to play vote bank politics come what may,”

NDF leader E Aboobacker says

“Why has Pinarayi Vijayan suddenly turned against us? How can a person blame us while investigations are still on,”  .

Not surprising coming from a state where a special session of the Kerala Assembly was convened to pass an unanimous resolution by both LDF and UDF members calling upon Tamilnadu Government to release Terrorist Madhani who is lodged in Coimbatore Jail. 

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