Prisoners in TP Chandrasekharan murder case make Facebook posts, use mobile phones

Thiruvananthapuram: Some accused in the sensational Chandrasekharan murder case are suspected to have used mobile phones in their cells, as a sting by a TV channel claimed that they accessed their Facebook accounts.

The matter, which involves a serious violation of prison rules, was exposed through a sting operation by a Malayalam TV channel, sparking criticism against the Home Department from sections in the ruling Congress itself.

The channel also beamed the photographs purportedly posted on Facebook by some of the key accused in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case after they were lodged in the prison as undertrials.

Chandrasekharan, who floated his own outfit RMP after quitting CPI(M), was hacked to death in May 2012 near his native village Onchiyam.

Many of the accused in the case are local CPI(M) workers, besides goons hired to execute the murder.

According to the channel, one of its reporters also made a call on the mobile phone of one of the accused and spoke to him for a while, pretending to be a well-wisher.

Admitting that the incident involved breach of prison rules and security, Home Minister Thiruvanchur Radhakrishnan said the Home Secretary and DGP (Prison) have been asked to inquire into the matter and submit a report urgently.

Reacting to the report, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Ramesh Chennithala and Congress MP from Kannur K Sudhakaran said what had been exposed was serious.

"This is a serious lapse. This warrants stern action. It also showed that the CPI(M) has formed its fraction even within prisons," Chennithala told reporters.