The Hindu : Front Page : Sajinlal, 2 others held in Bishop's House attack case

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Friday, Nov 11, 2005

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Sajinlal, 2 others held in Bishop's House attack case

Staff Reporter

Police say the motive behind the attack was personal animosity

UNDER ARREST: Santhibhooshan and Sajinlal, accused in the Bishop's House attack case, being produced at the residence of the Neyyattinkara Judicial First Class Magistrate in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday evening. Photo: S. Gopakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Crime Branch investigating into the attack on Neyyattinkara Bishop House on Thursday `formally' arrested the three persons held in connection with the case.

The accused Sajinlal, Prasanth and Santhibhooshan have been booked on charges of conspiracy and unlawful assembly to cause injury. They were later produced at the residence of the Neyyattinkara Judicial First Class Magistrate in the evening and remanded to judicial custody.

Earlier, the arrest was announced at a press conference convened by Alphonse Earayil, Additional Director General of Police, Crimes, at the Crime Branch Headquarters here.

"We have explored all the possible angles in the case, including political, before making the arrest. The investigation has proved that the motive behind the attack was personal animosity which one of the accused, Sajinlal nurtured against a priest attached to the Bishop's House," he said.

The priest, incidentally, was a prosecution witness in a murder case, the trial of which was slated to begin shortly. According to the police, the attack which occurred around 2.20 a.m., was meant to intimidate the priest and prevent him from deposing as a witness in the court. The reason why they did not assault the priest was the presence of the security guard and the commotion, which ensued after attacking him, the police said.

According to them, Sajinlal orchestrated the attack with the help of Santhibhooshan, an accused in several criminal cases. Santhibhooshan, who was short of money, allegedly agreed to carry out the attack for

Rs.25,000.

"The full story behind the attack will be revealed only after the four suspects who are now absconding, are arrested," Mr. Earayil added.

Mashesh Kumar Singhla, IG, who was also present at the conference, said the arrests had been effected after obtaining `maximum proof.' "We have booked them not purely on circumstantial evidence, but also on the basis of the statements given by people who noticed them behind the Bishop's House after the attack," he said.

DIG Nitin Agarwal and SP T. J. Jose led the Crime Branch probe.

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