In a shocking case of negligence, crucial documents pertaining to the murder of Students Federation of India (SFI) leader Abhimanyu M have gone missing from the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court. The documents include a 5,000-page chargesheet, post-mortem certificate, wound certificate, statements of accused and witnesses. The Kerala High Court has asked the prosecution to submit these documents again.
That these documents had gone missing became public knowledge only when the Principal Sessions Court on Wednesday, March 6, asked advocates to raise objections before March 17. The Abhimanyu case hearing was scheduled on March 18. According to reports, the documents were missing in December, 2023 itself. On December 1, 2023, sessions court judge Honey Varghese reported the issue to the High Court and the court ordered a “reconstruction”.
Abhimanyu, a native of Idukki’s Vattavada was a second-year degree student of Maharajas College in Ernakulam district. On July 2, 2018, he was stabbed to death allegedly by activists of Campus Front of India, the student wing of the banned organisation Popular Front of India. An argument between the two groups over sticking posters on the campus allegedly triggered the clash.
Addressing the media, Abhimanyu’s family has sought a detailed investigation into the missing documents. “The documents should be recovered at the earliest and those who killed Abhimanyu must be punished,” they added. Meanwhile, SFI has demanded that the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud should directly investigate the culprits behind the missing documents.