As the police continued its massive operation in search of the assailants of Youth Congress worker S.P. Shuhaib in suspected hideouts near Mattannur on Saturday, six people were taken into custody for questioning.
The police said the operation included raids in houses and hillocks, including Mudakkozhimala near Thillankeri here, which had been used as the hideout of key accused in the case of murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T.P. Chandrashekharan.
The police said those taken into custody for questioning were not directly involved in the murder of Shuhaib. The investigators were questioning them to find out if they have any information about the whereabouts of the assailants or anything that can help the investigation, the police said.
District Police Chief (DPC) Shiva Vikram G. himself led the operation in the suspected hideouts on Saturday. Over 100 police personnel in several police vehicles and buses were deployed for the operation.
“We have been conducting massive raids in the areas we know are possible hideouts which included hills and caves,” Mr. Vikram told The Hindu when contacted. Given the difficult terrain, the police personnel were searching these areas during day time, while continuing raids on houses in suspected areas during night time, he said adding that the police were trying to flush out the assailants.
The police said that police personnel literally raided all houses in suspected areas in coordinated operation led by the DPC. Hillocks such as Mudakkozhimala are areas with difficult terrain. If the police climbed the hill from one side, the hiding people could escape from the other side, the police said.
The police in the district were under pressure for arresting the assailants of Shuhaib who was hacked to death on February 12 at Edayannur under the Mattannur police station limits.
Congress leader K. Sudhakaran announced a 48-hour fast here from January 19 demanding the arrest. If the assailants were not arrested, the fast would be continued as an indefinite hunger strike, he said. Kerala Student Union workers staged a dharna in front of the police station on Saturday demanding the arrest of the murderers.
