The Kerala Police are planning a major State-wide crackdown on Islamist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) and its political wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) which along with their students’ outfit Campus Front of India (CFI) were allegedly behind the gruesome murder of Abhimanyu (20), an activist of pro-CPI(M) students’ wing SFI, at Kochi’s Maharaja’s College five days ago.
The police think that Abhimanyu’s killing cannot be considered merely as a case of murder as it was not committed as part of sudden provocation or as a natural violent response amidst a clash but it was committed on the basis of a conspiracy. For this reason, it could be categorised as a terror act and provisions of the UAPA could be invoked in the case, they felt.
The Kochi Police probing the murder have already identified all the fifteen members of the gang that had attacked Abhimanyu and his SFI colleagues at midnight Sunday and have arrested four of them but sources said that they had not been able to trace the remaining 11 accused as they have most probably fled the State.
The action plan for crackdown includes formation of special squads under the leadership of Circle Inspectors of Police for carrying out raids on offices and other facilities of the PFI and affiliated outfits. In fact, such raids are already on and the SDPI have raised stiff protests against this across the State.
The raids are likely to be intensified in the coming days and specific guidelines for such raids have been prepared. The State Government is learned to have given permission to the police to carry out inspection at offices and other facilities of the Islamist outfits but permission should be taken from the Judiciary for such actions.
The police will also be given permission to take PFI and SDPI activists who they think are potential trouble makers into preventive custody. The police may also be allowed to carry out raids even during night time. Instead of carrying out such raids after obtaining prior search warrants, the police could be allowed to do this with search memorandums, it is said.