Former Sivaganga district CPI secretary and six others moved the High Court bench here today seeking to set aside the order of a local court in Sivaganga, which awarded them triple life sentence each for allegedly murdering an AIADMK student wing secretary and two others at Ochaikulam in this district on November 14 2012.
The appellants, including V Arjunan, former CPI district secretary, his son Suresh and five others, submitted that the prosecution case "is full of contradictions, artificial and unbelievable."
The Deputy Superintendent of Police, CB-CID, the Investigating Officer in the case, had filed the case against 21 persons, of whom 11 were convicted and sentenced, while 10 others were acquitted.
The petitioners submitted that the prime witness who fled the scene had deposed and given contradictory and doubtful statements.
They alleged some persons were 'fixed' in the case due to animosity and the probe was transferred only to stall the original investigating agency to find out the real culprits.
The prosecution had suprisingly dropped 15 members on the ground that the prime witness had agreed they were falsely implicated. The lower court had relied on motive (previous enemity due to election dispute), but there was no admissible or corroborating evidence to prove it, they said.
Besides, the medical evidence of one of the injured showed it was only an accident and not murder, they claimed.
The lower court had convicted and sentenced the accused for murdering AIADMK students' wing secretary, M G Kathiresan, his son Prasanna and another man when they were returning home on the night of November 14, 2012 after celebrating Diwali at Pagaianjan near Periya Kannanur in the district. His daughter Nikhila was injured.
An armed gang had waylaid their SUV at Oochaikulam near Nedunkulam and attacked them with deadly weapons.
CID, which took up the probe, concluded that Arjunan (60), his son and his associates had committed the murders. It said there was 'misunderstanding' between Kathiresan and Arjunan over the president election to Periyakannanur panchayat.
CB-CID, after arresting Arjunan, the main accused and two others, had traced the lorry and two-wheeler used to commit the murder. It later arrested 12 others who had allegedly acted as conspirators and harboured the accused.
The agency had filed the charge sheet against Arjunan and 20 others on January 30, 2013.
The district court, which had conducted the trial, convicted them last month and sentenced each of them to triple life sentence. It also slapped a fine of Rs 3,000 on each of them, a CB-CID release said.
