Muthoot murder to CBI

The order was given by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S R Bannurmath and Justice Thottathil Radhakrishnan on a plea by Paul’s father M G George Muthoot seeking a CBI probe.

The investigating agency has been asked to complete the inquiry in six months time. George Muthoot had in his petition claimed that the police investigation appeared to be proceeding according to a ‘pre-written’ script and the people who were arranged as accused had strong political links. There were also gaping holes in the police theory about the murder.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan welcomed the order and said that the government would cooperate with any agency in the investigation. George, 32, was killed under mysterious circumstances near Alappuzha in the wee hours of August 22 last year while travelling in a car with two other people who had several criminal cases against them in the state.

The police claim that the murder was an instance of road rage and that there was no deeper conspiracy in the incident.

The court has also come down heavily on Inspector General of police Vincent M Paul who conducted a news conference on the murder two days after the incident.