Thiruvananthapuram: At a rally in the run-up to the 2016 Assembly polls, Prime Minister Modi held up the hand of the BJP candidate from Kannur’s Koothuparambu constituency, C. Sadanandan Master, highlighting the ‘brutality committed by the communists’ in the State.
Nearly a decade later, Sadanandan’s nomination to Rajya Sabha is a reminder of Kerala’s long history of political violence and revenge murders, most of which involve the CPIM and the BJP.
Sadanandan, a former SFI member, was attacked by several men in January 1994, years after he left the communist party for the RSS. Sadanandan lost both his legs in the attack near Kannur district’s Thalassery. The police arrested 12 people, all of them with links to the Communist party. Eight were convicted, while four were acquitted due to the lack of evidence.
According to court documents, the attackers also set off a bomb to create an atmosphere of terror in the area.
Analysts say that almost three decades later, the BJP is trying to use Sadanandan’s Rajya Sabha entry to highlight Kerala’s history of political killings, especially in Kannur district. On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described his life as an epitome of courage and refusal to bow to injustice.
“Violence and intimidation couldn’t deter his spirit towards national development. His efforts as a teacher and social worker are also commendable,” the Prime Minister wrote on X.
However, Joseph C. Mathew, a state-based political analyst, said: “I don’t think it’s going to help the BJP in any way. They may try to create a parallel history and ideological base. They might have been victims of violence, but it was a local tussle and not for a larger cause,” Mathew said.
Appeal for enhanced punishment turned down
In 2014, Sadanandan approached the Kerala HC asking that the punishment for his attackers be increased, but the court turned it down in January this year, saying such an appeal could only be made by the state government.
“In light of the gravity of the offence committed, the sentence of seven years appears to be very light. However, the State, for reasons best known to them, has not filed an appeal,” the Kerala High Court observed while dismissing his appeal. However, the court enhanced the compensation payable by the eight convicted men from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 each.
Pronouncing the verdict, the Kerala High Court said the accused as well as the Marxist party workers were maintaining a hostile attitude towards Sadanandan since he left the party.
Quoting the trial court’s judgment, the High Court noted that Sadanandan, “a charismatic and efficient leader, was making his mark in the locality, and his efforts helped in spreading and strengthening the roots of his party in the area,” which the rival party could not accept.
Of the accused, some had previously worked closely with Sadanandan in the party.
The Principal Assistant Sessions Judge, Thalassery, sentenced the convicted to seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000. Though the convicted men approached the court challenging the verdict, their appeal was dismissed in 2013.
The accused were found guilty under the charges of IPC section 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 342 (wrongful confinement), 326 (grievous hurt with dangerous weapons), and 307 (attempt to murder).
“The attack seems to have been premeditated and well planned. As noticed earlier and at the risk of repetition, it needs to be noted that not only had A1 to A8 hacked PW1 (Sadanandan) repeatedly leading to both his legs being severed, they also made sure that nobody approached PW1 to rescue/save him. This makes the offences all the more grave/severe,” the court observed.
Attack and counter-attack
Incidentally, Sadanandan’s attack was followed by the murder of an SFI worker named K.V. Sudheesh in Kannur the same year.
“If I hadn’t lost my legs, Sudheesh would not have died, that’s the analysis. If you ask me if it’s right, it’s not when we think about humanity. But it was a normal reaction from the workers when they saw their district leader had been amputated. That might be the emotion behind Sudheesh’s death,” Sadanandan later said in an interview given to local Malayalam TV channel Asianet News.
As per court documents, one Janardhanan, a CPI(M) worker, was also attacked at Mattannur shortly after the attack, in which Sadanandan himself was an accused.
As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Kerala reported 42 political murders between 2016 and 2022. Of the total, 15 happened in 2016. Nationwide, this was the third highest after Jharkhand (92) and Bihar (85).
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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