Fazal murder case: evidence missing from Ernakulam CJM court recovered

A vital piece of evidence—a blood-stained towel—in the case related to the alleged murder of Mohammed Fazal, an activist of the National Development Front (NDF) (now the proscribed Popular Front of India), which had mysteriously gone missing from the Ernakulam Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Court, has been recovered.

The disappearance of the evidence came to light after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court, where the trial commenced in May, 2026, called for it only to be informed that the towel kept in a sealed cover in the custody of the CJM Court was missing. Incredibly, the court was told that the cover bore a note claiming the towel had been taken by rodents. The CBI Court subsequently sought a report from the CJM Court on the matter.

Crucial evidence

The towel was considered crucial by the prosecution. Reportedly, it had been planted near the house of a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to frame RSS activists in the case. “The CJM Court has reportedly already informed the CBI Court about the recovery of the missing evidence. However, we have no clue how and from where it was recovered,” said prosecution sources.

After a gap, the trial of eight accused in the case will resume and continue without break on August 4, 2026.

Eight CPI(M) activists accused

Fazal, 30, an NDF activist and newspaper distributor, was hacked to death near a mosque in Thalassery on October 22, 2006. The case was handed over to the CBI following a Kerala High Court order on a writ filed by Mariyu, the victim’s wife, who alleged attempts by the Kerala Police to sabotage the probe. The CBI chargesheet arraigned eight Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] men, including senior Kannur leaders Karayi Rajan and Karayi Chandrashekaran.

In 2021, the Kerala High Court ordered a further probe into the murder on a plea by Fazal’s brother, citing the disclosure of a “confession” by RSS worker ‘Kuppi’ Subeesh while in police custody in another murder case. He allegedly confessed that Fazal had been hacked to death by RSS workers, including himself. Subeesh later retracted the confession, claiming that he had been tortured by the police into making the disclosure.

Subeesh’s “confession” was the first twist in the case after the chargesheet, prompting the CPI(M) to demand a further probe. In addition to the two local CPI(M) leaders accused of masterminding the murder, the CBI listed ‘Kodi’ Suni, later convicted in the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P. Chandrashekharan, among the accused.

The case took another turn in May 2018 when former Deputy Superintendent of Police K. Radhakrishnan, who had earlier investigated the case, disclosed that the then Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had removed him from the probe when it began pointing to the suspected role of local CPI(M) workers.