The Kerala Police have learned that Youth Congress leader SP Shuhaib (29) was hacked to death at Edayannur near Mattannur, Kannur on February 12 with the knowledge of the local CPI(M) leadership.
They got indications regarding this from the two CPI(M) workers arrested for the murder even as they claimed that those arrested were not ‘dummy culprits’ as the Congress was alleging but were the actual accused.
According to the police, MV Akash (24) and Rijin Raj (26) of Thillankery, Kannur whom they had taken into custody on Sunday were directly involved in Shuhaib’s murder. They have learned that Shuhaib was hacked to death by a five-man gang and have already indentified the remaining culprits who, according to them, would be caught soon.
Akash and Rijin have reportedly indicated that the decision to attack Shuhaib was taken by the Edayannur leadership of the CPI(M) as an act of retaliation for an alleged Congress attack on some CITU workers a few weeks ago. However, the duo told the police that they had not intended to kill Shuhaib as the “quotation” was to chop off his legs.
Director General of Police (North Zone) Rajesh Dewan confirmed to newsmen on Monday that those arrested were CPI(M) men and that they were the actual culprits. Stating that the police had caught them while they were trying to escape a search, he said that the conspirators behind the murder were yet to be caught.
Dewan said that those who did not trust the State police could approach court to seek CBI probe but it would not change the fact that there was no lapse from the part of the police. He claimed that the police had conducted raids for the accused at 55 locations and asserted that they were determined to prove the conspiracy behind the murder.
Akash and Rijin have told the police that the plan was to attack Shuhaib at the first available opportunity and they had followed him with this plan for three days. Both of them, local leaders of DYFI, were accused in the case pertaining to the murder of RSS worker Vineesh (27) of Mavila near Thillankery on September 3, 2016.
The police have learned that two other local DYFI leaders also had direct involvement in the murder of Shuhaib while the fifth member of the gang was the driver of the car they had used to reach Theroor, Edayannur where they attacked the Youth Congress leader on the night of February 12 while he was having tea at a roadside restaurant along with two friends.
However, State CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan reiterated that his party had no role in the murder of Shuhaib and said that stringent action would be taken if any partyman was found to have anything to do with it. “We understand the police are trying to find the actual culprits. There will be no interference (from our part) in that,” he said in a Facebook post.
At the same time, Kannur’s Congress strongman K Sudhakaran, who began a 48-hour fast in Kannur on Monday morning demanding the arrest of the “actual accused”, repeated his allegation that those arrested were just ‘dummy culprits’. He charged the police and CPI(M) with efforts to protect the actual criminals.
“We believe that the hands of the police in Kannur have been tied. Those who have been arrested are dummy culprits,” alleged Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala while inaugurating an indefinite protest fast by the Youth Congress at the gates of the State Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram demanding the arrest of the “actual” murderers.
Chennithala said the Congress would take part in the all-party peace meet scheduled to be held at the Kannur district collectorate on Wednesday morning.
law Minister AK Balan would represent the Government in the peace meet, called by Marxist Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the context of the Youth Congress leader’s murder.