The Hindu : Kerala News : Punnad murder: raid continues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Punnad murder: raid continues

By Our Staff Reporter

KANNUR, JUNE 9 . The police today continued their raid in different parts near Iritty and Mattannur to arrest the accused in the case relating to the murder of the National Development Front (NDF) activist, P.V. Muhammad, at Punnad on June 7.

The Iritty police have listed 20 Rasthriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers, including some district RSS leaders, as accused in the first information report on the murder.

Meanwhile, the police arrested five NDF workers identified as accused in the case relating to the stabbing of the BJP-RSS worker, Suresh, at nearby Padikkachal on June 5.

The arrested are: P.K. Shameer (21), K. Shafeer (20), N.P. Asghar (20), K. Sharafuddin (24) and V.M. Saleem (22). The Mattannur Judicial First Class Magistrate Court remanded them to 15 days' custody.

The police said the accused in the Punnad murder case, including the district RSS leader, Valsan Thillankery, the VHP activist, Shankaran, and the Hindu Aikya Vedi district organiser, Ashwinkumar, were absconding.

The police listed 20 RSS workers as accused in the case, including the three leaders.

In another development, the police seized the autorickshaw of one of the accused in the murder case.

Meanwhile, senior police officers, including the Inspector General of Police, Venugopal K. Nair, the DIG, Nithin Aggrawal, and the SP, Manoj Abraham, visited the trouble-torn areas, including Punnad, Uliyil and Avilat, today.

The IG said the police would take tough action against those trying to instigate violence. All those who had been involved in the murder case and the subsequent incidents would be arrested, he said.

RSS, BJP protest

The BJP and RSS leadership alleged that naming RSS activists, including its prominent district leaders, as accused in the case relating to the murder of Muhammad was part of a conspiracy hatched by a `NDF-CPI(M)-police axis'.

The BJP State general secretary, P.K. Krishnadas, and the RSS leader, K.K. Balaram, said at a press conference here today that the RSS leaders and workers were named as accused in the case on the basis of the statement of a witness, Abdul Hameed, who they described as an NDF worker.

NDF accuses police of inaction

The NDF has accused the police of being biased against its activists after the incidents at Iritty and Mattannur in Kannur district.

Addressing a news conference here today, the NDF general secretary, Nazarudeen Elamaram, and the supreme council member, P. Koya, said the police had acted in an unfair manner before and after the murder of the NDF activist, P.V. Muhammed, on Monday.

They said the NDF had informed the police about the conspiracy being hatched by the local RSS leaders. But no action had been taken.

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