The Wayanad Principal Session’s Court in Kalpetta on Friday instructed the police not to arrest Congress leader and Sulthan Bathery MLA IC Balakrishnan and . Wayanad District Congress Committee( DCC) president ND Appachan till January 15 when the court will consider the case again

The court gave the oral instruction considering the anticipatory bail plea of the duo. The police have been asked to withhold the arrest till January 15 and to produce the case diary in the court

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The Kerala Police on Thursday booked Sulthan Bathery Congress MLA IC Balakrishnan, Wayanad District Congress Committee (DCC) president ND Appachan and two other party leaders in the suicide case of former Wayanad Congress Committee treasurer, NM Vijayan.

Charges of abetment of suicide have been filed against Congress leaders- Sultan Bathery MLA IC Balakrishnan, DCC President ND Appachan, and KK Gopinathan. The list also names late PV Balachandran, who had previously left Congress to join the CPI-M

A special investigation team led by Sultan Bathery DySP K K Abdul Shareef is investigating the case. Recently, Vijayan’s family handed over the letters written by Vijayan to the KPCC leadership and the suicide notes to the police.

The letters and suicide notes allegedly written by NM Vijayan before he died by suicide has put the Congress leadership in Kerala in a difficult situation

The letters, which have been released by the family, purportedly mentioned names of Sulthan Bathery Congress MLA IC Balakrishnan, DCC president ND Appachan and other local leaders of Congress and accused them of corruption. Vijayan alleged that the MLA took bribes for offering jobs at the Congress-controlled cooperative bank in his constituency. Vijayan also alleged he had a huge debt due to the financial transactions with the Congress leaders

Vijayan and his son Jijesh (38), a former employee of the Sulthan Bathery Urban Cooperative Bank, were found in a critical condition at their residence on December 24 and were shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode, where they succumbed.

In his suicide note, Vijayan addressed his elder son Vijesh that he wanted this note to be handed over to the Congress leaders, and then to the Wayanad district police chief after 10 days if the party fails to act. It is based on this letter that the Wayanad police have now registered an FIR against the top Congress leaders.