Kochi: No CBI probe in Shuhaib murder

Kochi: The High Court division bench headed by the Chief Justice on Friday quashed a CBI probe ordered by a single bench in the Shuhaib murder case. It upheld an appeal filed by the state government against the order of the single bench in the case in which C.P. Shuhaib, a leader of the Youth Congress in Mattannur, Kannur district, was killed by alleged CPM activists in February 2018.

C.P. Mohammad, father of Shuhaib, told reporters in Kannur that the family would approach the Supreme Court against the verdict of the High Court. KPCC president Mullappally Ramac handran told reporters in Malappuram that the party would also file an appeal in the Supreme Court against the verdict. K. Sudhakaran MP will coordinate the case in the apex court.      

The division bench allowed the appeal mainly on the grounds that the need for a CBI probe and the failure of the investigating agency in conducting the probe come to the fore at the time of trial in the case. The relatives should have pointed out such shortfalls then. The single bench, without taking into consideration these aspects, had ordered a CBI probe in the primary stage of the investigation itself.

Shuhaib was hacked to death by a gang on the night of February 12, 2018 while he was having food from a wayside eatery at Theroor in Kannur district. The parents of Shuhaib approached the High Court in March 2018 seeking a CBI probe citing lack of confidence in the probe by the local police. A single bench of the court ordered a CBI probe the same month itself.

The division bench has allowed the appeal filed by the state government after staying the order of the single bench for more than a year. The state government argued that the single bench ordered a CBI probe solely based on the arguments of the petitioners and had not even considered the contents in the case diary. The government also objected to the contention equating the killing with a terrorist act and imposition of UAPA in the case.

The division bench pointed out that the family members of the victim had not raised any complaints regarding the probe at the time of the investigation. If the family feels that further probe is needed it could approach the court again.

Father says leaders involved: Shuhaib’s father said the government was scared of a CBI probe as many leaders of the CPM were involved in the conspiracy to kill his son. The government has spent crores of rupees from the public exchequer to hire a senior advocate from Delhi to argue the case in the High Court. The leaders will be apprehended if the CBI investigates the case, he said.

Rs 50 lakh for advocate: The government hiring Vijay Hansaria, a senior advocate in the Supreme Court, to appear in the High Court by spending over Rs 50 lakh has created flutter in the state due to the exorbitant charges.