The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has accused the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) of shielding the prime accused in the murder of Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activist Chandayankandi Shibin at Thooneri, near Nadapuram, last week.
Addressing a news conference here on Wednesday, CPI (M) State secretariat member Elamaram Karim and district secretary P. Mohanan alleged that a special police team was reluctant to arrest prime accused Theyambadi Ismail and his brother Theyambadi Muneer as they were being protected by the IUML leaders.
It was “unfortunate and deplorable” that the police could not nab them even though the incident took place six days ago. Earlier, the IUML had staged an agitation demanding that the police release the accused after they had been named goonda under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, Mr. Karim said.
Dismissing that the incident was a political one, Mr. Karim said it was “sheer rowdyism carried out by a local goon.” Of the six persons who sustained injuries, two were Congress workers. “It was a pre-planned murder and not a spontaneous one as it is presumed to be,” he asked.
Mr. Karim charged the IUML leaders with attempting to communalise the incident as they had done during the communal uprising at Nadapuram in 2001. Then they had alleged that a Muslim woman had been raped at Theruvamparambu. This had led to the murder of a DYFI worker. But later, the woman confessed that she had not been raped, Mr. Karim said.