Kerala government nod for CBI probe, Chandrasekharan's wife ends fast

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress-led UDF Government in Kerala on Friday decided in principle to seek a CBI probe into the 'conspiracy' behind the murder of RMP leader T.P. Chandrasekharan following which the slain leader's wife called off her five-day fast in front of the government secretariat here.

While accepting the demand for a CBI probe to unearth the 'conspiracy' behind the murder, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the government has to go through certain technical and legal procedures to formally order a CBI probe into the issue.

The decision of Chandrasekharan's wife K.K. Rema to end the fast was announced by RMP leader N Venu shortly after Chandy announced the decision after a meeting of the state cabinet.

"In view of the Government's decision Rema is ending her fast. We take the Chief Minister's assurance seriously. This struggle for justice has become a landmark one in the history of the state and we thank all those who extended support to us," Venu told reporters at the fast venue.

Earlier, Chandy had appealed to Rema to end the fast that entered the fifth day Friday.

A CPI(M) rebel, who floated a parallel Left outfit called Revolutionary Marxist Party in his home turf Onchiyam in north Kerala, Chandrasekharan was hacked to death in May 2012. Last month, a special court sentenced 11 persons, three of them local CPI(M) functionaries, to life imprisonment.

Rema had alleged that bigwigs of CPI(M) were involved in the conspiracy to murder Chandrasekheran.

CPI(M) had held that ordering a fresh probe would be illegal and politically motivated.