Fifty years after his death in custody during the Emergency, the death and disappearance of P. Rajan, a student of Regional Engineering College, Kozhikode, is still shrouded in mystery.
The Kerala High Court, on a habeas corpus petition filed by his father TV Eachara Varier, concluded that Rajan was taken into custody on 1 March 1976 from the college and was later seen in police custody at Kakkayam Tourist Bungalow, Kozhikode, where the police had set up a camp. Rajan and another student were taken into custody allegedly on suspicion of maintaining close links with the Naxalites who allegedly attacked the Kayanna Kozhikode police station on February 28, 1976.
The incidents created a political storm in Kerala after the Emergency period, when opposition political parties and student organizations protested against “police excesses”.
K. Karunakaran, who became the Chief Minister of Kerala in post-emergency elections, had to step down after being restrained by the Supreme Court for an affidavit filed on his behalf stating that the police had not taken Rajan into custody.
Former IG Lakshmana and Pulikkodan Narayanan, former sub-inspector of Panoor police station, the surviving two of the seven policemen who were involved in police operations in the region, including the detention and interrogation of those arrested, denied to The Hindu any information about the arrest, death and disappearance of Rajan’s body. The duo also claimed that they were falsely implicated in a criminal case at the behest of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)).
Mr. Lakshmana blamed the crime branch, which was investigating the case, for all the trouble. “The reasons behind Rajan’s death are still unknown. I do not know anything about his reported arrest or death. Though I was the Superintendent of Police in Kozhikode at the time of the alleged incidents, I never had any role in the proceedings as the investigation was conducted by the crime branch headed by Superintendent of Police Jayaram Padikkal,” said Mr. Lakshmana.
“I was falsely implicated in a criminal case because of my proximity to Karunakaran. However, the Sessions Court Coimbatore and the Madras High Court acquitted me, which was ratified by the Supreme Court,” he added.
Mr. Narayanan claimed that no one died in the Kakkayam camp during this period. “I am sure no one died there. I did not see Rajan brought there or interrogated. The interrogation was done by senior officials including Mr. Lakshman, Jayaram Padikkal and Madhusoodanan. Lower ranking officers like me had no role to play. I did my job as a police officer in accordance with the law. Those who had non-violence played a role in scocus. eventually the court acquitted me guilt,” he added.
Meanwhile, Chandini, Rajan’s sister, mourns the loss of her only brother. She still doesn’t know when or how her brother died. “All we know from court records is that he’s not alive. We’re guessing he was killed on March 2nd. We still don’t know what happened to him. He would have been 72 this year,” she sobbed.
Apart from a few splinter Naxalite organisations, no political party has commemorated the death of Rajan and two others, Angadippuram Balakrishnan and Varkala Vijayan, who developed as symbols of police excesses during the Emergency. Varier’s case and legal battle inspired the national award-winning film Piravi.
Published – March 4, 2026 7:12 PM IST
