Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the murder of Kerala Youth Congress leader and the organisation’s Mattannoor block secretary S.P. Shuhaib, 29, police are yet to track the killers, bringing pressure on the Left Democratic Front government.
The state Congress leadership has accused the ruling Communist Party of India Marxist of masterminding the murder of Shuhaib, who had 37 wounds on his body after being hacked to death while he was eating from a wayside joint earlier this week.
The murder took place in Kannur district, infamous for being the capital of political killings in Kerala, and a district estimated to have witnessed over 200 political killings in half a century.
On Friday, Opposition leader, Ramesh Chennithala put forth a serious allegation against the CPM, alleging that as many as 19 hardened criminals had been granted parole ahead of Shuhaib’s murder, sparking suspicion that his murder was premeditated and politically motivated.
Chennithala said the manner in which Shuhaib was hacked to death bore a close resemblance to the manner in which the late rebel Communist leader T.P. Chandrasekharan was hacked to death, allegedly by CPM activists, with 51 cuts to his body. The CPM has denied having any role in either of the two murders.
Chennithala said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s silence over the murder of Shuhaib would only serve to provide encouragement to such murderers.
“Even after so many days, police have not been able to arrest any of the killers. Neither have the police visited Shuhaib’s house to take the statements of his father and other family members”, Chennithala pointed out.
The Opposition leader alleged that the police were delaying the arrest until they could get some “dummy accused” whom they could arrest.
Eye witnesses had said that Shuhaib was killed by a gang who arrived in a brand new vehicle, and that the gang had thrown country bombs to scare away onlookers before hacking Shuhaib to death.
