Mani, who failed to respond to two earlier calls to appear before the police for questioning, arrived at the office of the deputy superintendent of police at Thodpuzha at around 10am following an ultimatum by the police. They had asked him to appear before the SIT by 10am or face arrest.

Mani, who was reportedly hiding at the party office-cum-resort at Munnar for the last days, was questioned by a high level team led by Ernakulam range inspector general of police K Padmakumar about the speech he made at Manakkad near Thodupuzha on May 26 and the political murders in Idukki district.

Padmakumar told reporters after the interrogation that Mani had given very valuable information regarding the cases being investigated by the police. He said that this information would be highly helpful to the investigation.

The senior police officer said the police will verify the information and summon Mani for further questioning if necessary. He said that Mani had fully cooperated with the investigators and had agreed to appear before them for further questioning.

Mani said that the questioning was very cordial and he was happy with the way the police treated him.

He told reporters that he was asked in detail about the contents of his speech and the political situation in the district.

Mani, who was removed from the post of the Idukki district secretary of the CPM following his disclosures, said that he had conveyed to the SIT his willingness to appear before them whenever needed.

Mani had made the controversial speech while explaining the party’s stand on the brutal murder of party rebel leader T P Chandrashekharan at Onchiyam in Calicut district on May 4.  The police registered cases against him on the basis of the details of three murders divulged by Mani in his speech. — news@khaleejtimes.com