The police team probing the murder of local CPM leader Shahjahan in Palakkad has arrested four accused. The arrest of Sabareesh, Sujeesh, Aneesh and Naveen was recorded on Wednesday. They were nabbed from different hideouts.
Eight accused have been named in the first information report (FIR). The police said they suspect the involvement of more people.
District Police Chief R Viswanath said local political dispute and personal enmity were the motive behind the murder.
“There was a dispute between Shahjahan and the accused after the latter left his party. It escalated into a rivalry,” Viswanath told media on Wednesday.
Accused went to bar after murder The investigation team has found CCTV footage of the accused assembling at a bar at Chandranagar in Palakkad town on the day of the murder. A 20-member team headed by Palakkad DySP V K Raju is investigating the murder.
Three accused including Naveen reached the bar around 9.50 pm on Sunday. They had hacked Shahjahan between 9 pm and 9.30 pm. They went into hiding apparently after learning that Shahjahan had succumbed to injuries. The police gathered the CCTV footage based on Naveen’s statement. The police also recorded the statement of the bar employees.
Meanwhile, the postmortem report revealed that Shahjahan died due to heavy bleeding from injuries. He had deep cuts on legs and hands. Shahjahan, a CPM local committee member at Kunnangadu, was hacked to death by a bike-borne gang at Marutha Road on Sunday night. His relatives have alleged that he had received threats from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) members.
This story was originally published in onmanorama.com . Read the full story here