Long before becoming the Chief Minister of Kerala, vs. Achuthanandan lived through one of the most dark chapters of political resistance in Indian history. One of the many conflicts that had faced, one moment stands out -when a thief, Kolappan, inadvertently became the person who saved his life.
According to the accounts incurred by CPI (M) mouthpiece Deshimani, this extraordinary episode took place in 1946, which took place by Dawan Sir CP Ramaswamy Year during the cruelty of Pannapra-Vayalar rebellion in the coastal Alappuzha against the alleged brutal repression of Travanus.
Achuthanandan went underground on the party’s instructions as the police broke on undivided Communist Party leaders.
He was eventually caught by a hideout at Poonzar in Kottayam district, cheated by local rivals, and was taken to the lock-up of Pala police.
After this there was nothing less than torture.
Policemen, led by a notorious officer, ruled him mercilessly, demanded the whereabouts of other senior leaders like EMS Namboodiripad and P Krishna Pillai.
He refused to say a word. They tied her hands, beaten her legs with sticks, and finally stabbed her leg with a bayonan. Bleeding heavy, Achuthanandan lost consciousness. Thinking that he was dead, the police decided to quietly settle his body.
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Since there was no official record of his arrest, he believed that he could cover his death. He wrapped his body in his Mundu (dhoti) and placed it under the seat of a police jeep.
At that time, a thief named Kolappan was also built in custody to help him.
This plan was to bury the “body” somewhere in the forest.
But as the jeep left at night, Kolappan saw something – Achuthanandan was still breathing.
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Kolappan alerted the police that the man he thought was dead, in fact, alive.
The police then rushed him to a government hospital in Pala.
He survived – although it took weeks of treatment to overcome injuries.
Shortly thereafter, he was arrested again in relation to another political matter and sent to Alappuzha Sub-Jail.
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Later he gave time as prisoner number 8957 at Pujappura Central Jail, Thiruvananthapuram.
He was released in 1949.
Death on Monday at the age of 101, Achuthanandan carried forward the stains of this exam for both the rest of his life – both physical and emotional.
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