CBI questions P Sasi

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: P Sasi, former Kannur district secretary of CPM, was quizzed by the Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI)  here on Thursday in a case related to the murder of NDF activist Muhammed Fasal at Thalassery in October 2006. It is learnt that, during interrogation, Sasi had stated that he did not have any involvement in the murder and did not have any information about it. According to the CBI, a group of people who came on three motorbikes killed Fasal, who was a CPM worker earlier, in the wee hours of  October 22, 2006 while he was distributing newspapers.  Sasi was of the opinion that the CBI issued the notice under the presumption that he was the district secretary of the CPM at the time of the murder. He informed the CBI that it was M V Govindan Master who held the post then.  Sasi, who was the political secretary to the late E K Nayanar when he was the Chief Minister, was ousted from the party on moral grounds last year. This was the first time that Sasi appeared before the CBI, in spite of   several notices issued by the agency. The CBI served an ultimatum to Sasi last month demanding him to appear before it. The Crime Branch, which investigated the case earlier, had seized one of the three bikes used by the killers. The CBI also took another bike into custody after the agency was given charge of the investigation. While the Crime Branch had arrested three people in connection with the case, the CBI took three more into custody recently. This has put the CPM on the defensive as all the arrested are sympathisers of the party. Earlier, the CPM had accused RSS for the murder.  Two local leaders of the CPM, Karayi Chandrasekharan and Karayi Rajan, were also summoned by the CBI earlier.