The Safeer murder case that rocked Mannarkkad near here since Sunday took a curious turn on Wednesday with the father of the IUML worker changing his stance on the political affiliation of the suspects.
The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), which claimed that the five arrested in connection with the murder were sympathisers of the Communist Party of India (CPI), was put on the defensive on Wednesday morning when Safeer’s father Sirajudheen said the killing had nothing to do with party politics.
Mr. Sirajudheen, a local leader of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and member of the Mannarkkad municipal council, said personal animosity between his son and the accused led to the murder.
Change by evening
However, he changed his stance by evening and convened a press meet to endorse the UDF claim that the suspects were CPI sympathisers.
“All of them are CPI activists and the murder was part of a conspiracy hatched by the CPI local leadership,” he said in the evening. He also said the police were sabotaging the case. “Those arrested have no clear political affiliations. Some of them were earlier sympathisers of both the CPI(M) and the IUML. They are known to my family. They have no known CPI connections other than just sympathy for that party,” he said in the morning. Mr. Sirajudheen said the animosity between his son and the accused went a long a way back.
“Fortunately, the police have arrested all the suspected and I hope the judiciary will ensure justice to my son. The political controversies shrouding the issue are meaningless,” he said, inviting the wrath of UDF leaders. It seems, he apparently changed his stance under UDF pressure by evening.
Though a hartal called by the UDF in Mannarkkad on Monday over the issue turned violent and a CPI office was set on fire, the police claimed that the incident had nothing to do with political animosity and cited personal rivalry as the murder motive.
