“One day, the new Police Inspector visited my house and asked me to sign some papers. I was not told that it was a new statement.” Rajani, the widow of slain BMS leader Ramachandran, reveals how she was cheated by the Police
Ramachandran was a BMS worker in Payyannur, a CPM stronghold in Kannur. He was brutally hacked to death in front of his wife and twin children in the early hours of the day, after 1 am, on July 12, 2016. Ramachandran’s widow Rajani and two children Devangana and Devadath still live with the trauma of being witness to his gruesome murder.
The ninth standard students recount an incident which happened a year before the murder of their beloved father. “Our father was an auto-rickshaw driver. One night, our auto-rickshaw was set ablaze that was parked nearby our house. The vehicle was totally destroyed but we managed to blow out the fire before catching the house,” Devadath recalled.
Adding a significant incident to the awful story that still burns the little minds, Devangana pointed out a letter and a funeral wreath they spotted near the locality. Soaked in water and mud, the nearly faded letter read, “Leave the party, or next time we will chop your head off!” “We were not aware that they were going to do exactly what they wrote,” the children paused with a deep sigh. Rajani remembers her husband as an active labour leader who never showed any reluctance to help even the working class people belonging to the other folds, be it CPM’s CITU or Congress’ INTUC. “He has successfully floated a society for the welfare of labourers that opened its door to the other party workers too. Under his leadership, many CITU workers joined BMS,” she said. As it happened in many murders, here too, the reason was none other than massive erosion of cadres to the nationalist fold.
Rajani remembers the dreadful night, “We were off to bed. Suddenly, we woke up hearing a noise outside. Our house was surrounded by around 50 persons. We tried to stop them by pressing ourselves against the door. But they broke the door and barged in. When I tried to hide my husband behind me and blocked them, they pushed me down and tore my clothes.” Rajani continued with tears flowing, “They butchered my husband in front of my eyes. I know them. They were our acquaintances.”
In a stunning revelation, Rajani shares a devastating experience with the investigation team that stands witness to the wicked role played by the State police to sabotage the case time and again. According to her testimony in the First Information Report (FIR), she said it unambiguously that she had seen the murderers with her eyes. But as a part of politicisation of the state police in favour of the ruling party, the Vijayan Government revamped the force within a few months after taking over. With the new Circle Inspector investigating the case, they buried the original FIR and filed a fabricated one to rescue the real culprits.
“One day, the new Circle Inspector visited my house and asked me to sign some papers. I was not told that it was a new statement. Nobody was there with me at that time. I didn’t know that it was a political ploy,” she said. She has now appealed the court to get a copy of the second FIR as she already holds a copy of the original in her hands.
While Devadath wants to become an army officer, Devangana is determined to pursue the Civil Service exam and become an IPS officer. “Both of them study well,” reminds their mother. Now Rajani lives for her children. Her husband was the lone breadwinner, now the responsibility of running the family falls on her
shoulders. As a support, now her father lives with them. “We have a small shop. My father is too old to take
physical efforts but still, tries to support us. He has a poor vision at night. Despite his limitations, he helps us. My nephews will sleep over there so that we are not alone at night,” says the grieving mother with a future gripped by uncertainty.
( As told to Ganesh Krishnan R)
