KOCHI, March 25 -- Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan suffered a major setback on Monday as a person close to him was sentenced to undergo life imprisonment along with seven others by a court in Thalassery in connection with the gruesome murder of a former CPI(M) worker in 2005.
Manoraj Narayanan, brother of P M Manoj, the powerful media advisor to Pinarayi Vijayan and seven others were directly and physically involved in the murder. Manoj and family are close to the chief minister and his family.
The victim Sooraj had left the CPI(M) on his own and was planning to join the BJP when the murderers struck. In the CPI(M) in Kerala, members are not permitted to quit the party. The party leadership usually expels or order the execution of the tro...