Jayanandan's family demands reinvestigation, says he is innocent

Poyya, Thrissur: The family of KD Jayanandan, the murder convict serving life terms for two murders, dubbed 'Ripper', said that justice will be served only by a reinvestigation into the cases and eventual exoneration of the 55-year-old convict. His daughters and wife were reacting to the investigative report published on the news portal The News Minute two weeks ago.

The report, by journalist MK Nidheesh, raised serious questions about the Kerala police investigation. It also argued that Jayanandan did not receive proper legal representation.

"We were not aware of many of the facts stated in Nidheesh's report, especially the forensic report," said Keerthy, the eldest daughter of Jayanandan. "Often, appeal courts do not dive deep enough into the evidence. It happens at the trial court. In my father's cases, facts were not presented before the trial court properly," she said.

Keerthy, a practicing advocate based in Ernakulam, also told mathrubhumi.com that until 2013-14 when Project 39A (of National Law University) members contacted the family, they were not even aware of the number of cases pending against Jayanandan. "I have heard police say there were up to 35 cases against my father, including thefts. But the police never told us what the cases were," she said.

Jayanandan was acquitted in three murder cases and convicted in two. One of them has not gone beyond the trial court. Only one case was taken to the Supreme Court, with the help of Project 39A. The SC upheld the life term by reducing the sentence to 20 years in that case. "However, the sentences are not concurrent," said Keerthy. Jayanandan also serves six months for breaking out of jail twice. The family is planning to approach the court to get the sentences concurrent, appeal one conviction and seek a re-probe into the other one. They may also approach the Kerala government seeking a re-examination of the cases in the backdrop of the news report. However, nothing is finalised yet.

Indira, wife of Jayanandan, recalls that they learned about the first case from television news. "When he went missing (on November 21, 2006), we were told by his friends that he had gone to a relative's house in Thrissur and was expected to return in just two days. On the second night, we saw a TV news report that he was accused of murder," she said. She asserts that police did not inform her about his custody. He was taken into custody on November 23, according to Nidheesh's story.

"Two police officers visited our house during those days. They said it was a routine check on the situation in the area. They asked for some details and left. They did not inform my mother that my father was in custody," Keerthy said. Indira becomes speechless while recalling the events. She said they used to fish in the river at night  regularly. She claims Jayanandan was with her during the nights when the crimes were committed.

After the arrest, she met Jayanandan in the police station, when she was brought in for questioning. However, they were not allowed to talk. Indira said that he was unable to even stand on his own when she saw him at the police station. The investigating officer had told Nidheesh that they had used torture to extract a confession from Jayanandan. Indira also said she was once beaten by officials at the CBI office in Kathrikadavu. CBI investigated one of Jayanandan's cases. He was acquitted by the trial court.

When asked about the impact of the news story, Keerthy said there have been positive responses. However, she is aware that it is not enough to question the popular narrative of her father. "There are plenty of videos on YouTube about my father and my family. I always wondered how they could talk about such things so authentically when reality was completely different," she said.

Only a few family members helped Jayanandan's family after his arrest. Neighbours still outcast them. Indira worked as an agricultural labourer and construction worker to raise her family. Keerthy is now an advocate and Kashmira is a medical student. "My best friend learned about the cases against my father during the wedding (of Keerthy, last month). And following recent news reports, many of my college friends now know about me. I have been getting a lot of messages these days," Kashmira said.