Kerala CPI(M) leader killing: 2 accused in police custody

The police has taken into custody two of the eight accused involved in the killing of a local CPI(M) leader on the eve of Independence Day, which saw both the Left party and the BJP trying to pin the blame on each other.

A top police officer said two of the accused were taken into custody on Monday night and that they were being questioned presently regarding the killing of CPI(M) local committee member Shajahan on August 14 night.

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"No arrest has been recorded as of now. We have identified all the accused. Teams are out looking for them," the officer told PTI. Meanwhile, the victim's family told media that the victim was threatened with dire consequences by the accused who were not happy that he won a seat in the local committee.

Thereafter, they did not take part in party activities and thereafter, they threatened to cut him or kill him several times with weapons at different places, a family member said. Another family member said that the killing was planned as the assailants first cut his leg so that Shajahan cannot run away.

The accused had left the CPI(M) long back and political enmity is the reason for the killing, the family claimed.

On Sunday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a Facebook post, had condemned the killing and said that strict action would be taken against such moves to disturb the peaceful atmosphere in the state and that the police have been directed to leave no stone unturned in its investigation to bring the culprits to justice.

As the CPI(M) and BJP were blaming each other for the killing, police had said that they were trying to verify which party the assailants belonged to as according to the FIR the assailants, who were eight in number, were BJP-RSS workers and it was also believed that political enmity was the reason behind the killing.