CPI(ML) State Secretary Kunal described the High Court decision as regrettable. He also said that the verdict appears to have been influenced by political pressure. In the case in which Manoj Manzil and other comrades were convicted, everyone was falsely implicated. Even though the body of the person they are accused of killing was not recovered, all were sentenced to life imprisonment. An appeal against the Patna High Court order has been filed in the Supreme Court.
On February 13, 2024 Manoj Manzil along with 22 other comrades were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in a politically motivated murder case. In the case, 90-year-old Comrade Ramanand Prasad was also sentenced to life imprisonment. The case was filed on the eve of the 2015 Assembly elections and Comrade Manoj had to fight the polls from within jail. He still polled more than 30,000 votes and finished a close third.
The CPI(ML) State Secretary appealed to the people of Bihar and Bhojpur to teach a strong lesson in the upcoming elections to the forces that conspired to punish leaders of the poor and to continue the struggle for justice.
