By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Two men with criminal records who were reportedly travelling with Muthoot business group scion Paul M. George on the night he was murdered, surrendered before a court in Tamil Nadu Tuesday, police said here.
According to Mohammed Shafi, deputy superintendent of the Kerala Police, Om Prakash and P. Rajesh surrendered before the Judicial First Class Magistrate J. Jayvel in Palayamcottai in Tirunelveli.
Shafi said the two men would be brought here soon.
Prakash and Rajesh surrendered in a case of attempted murder that took place in 2004. They were remanded in judicial custody and send to the Palayamcottai jail.
Earlier Tuesday, the Congress-led opposition stalled the working of the Kerala assembly demanding that Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan resign for allegedly misleading legislators on the probe into the murder of Paul M. George.
George, 32, was killed Aug 21 midnight near Alappuzha while he was travelling with Om Prakash and Rajesh, both of whom have criminal records. The police have since arrested K. Satish, who the police claim stabbed George, and 18 others for their role in the crime.
Opposition leaders moved towards the speaker’s podium in the assembly after Speaker K. Radhakrishnan refused permission for an adjournment motion moved by Congress legislator Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan.
Radhakrishnan pointed out that a TV channel had Monday night reported that a blacksmith called Prasad in Alappuzha had made a knife as per the directions of investigating officer K.A. Thomas. And it was this knife that the police say Satish used to kill George.
“Inspector General of Police Vinson M. Paul a few days after the murder said at a press conference that a person called Satish had used a particular type of S-shaped knife to stab George. The blacksmith has now told a TV channel that Thomas had approached him to make a similar type of knife hours after Paul described the kind of knife used in the killing,” the Congress leader said.
Satish’s mother Vilasini has also alleged that her son is being framed by the police. She said the police had made Satish place a bundle containing a knife that they say was used in George’s murder.
In her petition in the high court Tuesday she sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). However, the plea was turned down by Justice Sasidaran Nambiar who said that the investigation was on and Vilasini could approach the court later with the same demand.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have alleged that police are under pressure because of the alleged links between Home Minister Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri and Om Prakash and P. Rajesh.
Balakrishnan has constantly denied allegations that his son was involved in George’s murder, and said the government has “nothing to hide” in the case.
Senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) legislator P. Jayarajan has maintained that George didn’t have a clean record.
“George was arrested a few years back in a drug case and he came out after paying crores of money as bribe. Right now the investigation is going on in the right direction, but the opposition and a section of the media are trying to scuttle this probe to hide certain facts,” said Jayarajan.