The Principal Sessions Court at Kalpetta in Wayanad has granted anticipatory bail to I.C. Balakrishnan, Congress MLA for Sulthan Bathery, N.D. Appachan, district Congress committee (DCC) president, Wayanad, and K.K. Gopinathan, former DCC treasurer, in a case of abetment of suicide of N.M. Vijayan, former DCC treasurer, and his son Jijesh.
While granting the anticipatory bail on Saturday, Principal Sessions Judge S. Jayakumar John asked the Congress leaders to cooperate with the Crime Branch investigation. They have also been told not to influence the witnesses in the case and travel out of Wayanad district. The police registered the case against four Congress leaders, including the late P.V. Balachandran, the former DCC president, on January 9.
A suicide note left behind by Vijayan had named the MLA and others. Mr. Balakrishnan, Mr. Appachan and Mr. Gopinathan had been at large since then. However, Mr. Balakrishnan attended the Legislative Assembly proceedings on January 17. The case, initially investigated by the local police, was later handed over to the Crime Branch.
The court granted them anticipatory bail after hearing arguments on January 15 and 16. The prosecution had argued that Vijayan’s letter could be considered as his dying declaration and anticipatory bail should not be granted to the accused as there was a possibility of them influencing the witnesses in the case.
However, counsel for the accused termed the allegations baseless. Vijayan and his son were admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on December 24 in a serious condition after they were found to have consumed poison. They died three days later. The suicide note was released around 10 days after this.
Published – January 18, 2025 06:50 pm IST
