On Monday, a CBI court acquitted all 19 people charged in the sensational Malankara Varghese murder case, which occurred in 2002 as a result of a feud between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions of the Malankara Church. CBI Court Judge Anil K Baskar acquitted Fr Varghese Thekkekkara, Joy Varghese, Alias K Mathew, Abraham Paulose, A V Thambi, Abdul Vahab M M, Sajin Sajimon, V N Prathesh, P G Prasad, P P Tony, Jaison K J, Sreevalsan P J, P D Roy, K R Anand, Sivan A R, Josemon C V, Jayaraj V N, Anil Davis and P P Antu. Three of them, Jayaraj, Anil, and Antu, were killed during the trial. The verdict, issued 20 years after the incident, is a setback for the CBI, which took over the investigation in 2007. Varghese, an Orthodox faction leader, was murdered by a gang outside a workshop on MC Road near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam on December 5, 2002, following a feud between the two factions. According to the prosecution, Fr Varghese was a part of the murder plot and arranged for money to be paid to the gang to carry out the murder.
The Kerala police, who initiated the investigation, turned it over to the Crime Branch before the CBI Chennai intervened. Following a re-investigation request, the CBI Kochi unit conducted an investigation and filed a charge sheet in 2015. The central agency was represented by CBI prosecutor Biju Babu, while the accused were represented by B Raman Pillai, Thomas Abraham Nilackappilli, M Sunil Kumar, V T Raghunath, and Isaac Thomas.
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