They are CPM’s celebrated soldiers: those who went to jail, fighting and killing for the party. Now, they have become a problem for Kerala’s ruling party.Embarrassed by the demeanour of partymen serving time in the Kannur Central Prison, the CPM state committee is now officially asking its local leadership to stop them from ganging up to run the jail as a party appendage, threatening jail officials and flouting all norms. Kannur happens to be Home Minister and senior CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s home district. The district is a CPM stronghold known for its political violence involving the CPM and RSS cadres who had been killing or mutilating each other by the dozens until things cooled down considerably a couple of years ago. There are about 320-odd CPM men in the Central Prison who have virtually taken over control of the jail from the hapless officials, after almost all RSS convicts were moved out fearing violence within the jail. Unlike lesser convicts, comrades in jail have been getting their regular supply of everything from mobile phones to booze, cigarettes and delicacies brought in by supporters. They often attack non-CPM convicts and occasionally the jail officials too, to have their writ run within it. Recently, they even assaulted and locked up a warden inside one of the cells. CPM leaders at all levels regularly visit the jail and call on their men, and there had been quite a din over paroles being arbitrarily granted to them on government orders. Though the party had all along denied media reports about the goings-on, party sources now confirm that the a party meeting on the region a fortnight back has spelt out the state leadership’s concern. The local leadership attending the meet has been told that the comrade-convicts should not ask for special considerations anymore, since it was not tenable to “expect all luxuries in jail in return for the sacrifices they may have made for the party”. They have been told to immediately look into interventions from outside, granting of parole and maintaining discipline within the jail. A few months ago, the Kerala High Court had suo motu taken as PIL a letter that a non-political convict had managed to post to the Chief Justice, highlighting the way the comrades were running the jail for themselves. The letter had said the jailed CPM men were regularly attacking other prisoners and those from other political parties, even naming some leaders of the “torture teams.” The Court had deputed the Kannur District Judge to probe the complaint, and the judge’s report had said the scene was actually worse. It had affirmed that this jail was virtually a CPM preserve, pointing out that even in other smaller jails of the area, the practice was to segregate criminals and send them to different prisons based on their political affiliations. The judge had also reported about drugs being brought into the jail and suggested construction of walls and barricades to physically segregate prisoners within the jail to prevent violence. The government has since implemented one of this judicial probe’s recommendations, appointing policemen to keep a watch on the jail, since the jail officials can’t do that on their own anymore.
