The Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the rape and murder of a > Dalit law student at Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district on April 28 has achieved a breakthrough with the arrest in Palakkad of a migrant worker from Assam.
Partially confirming the development, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters here that the police were in possession of all information about the prime suspect and that he was under their radar for the past few days. "This is a report that Kerala has been eagerly waiting to hear. We will know the details of the development soon," Mr. Vijayan said.
The prime suspect, according to reports so far, was held from Palakkad on his return from home where the police had gone as a part of the investigation. The murder, the reports said, was motivated by his hostility towards the victim following quarrels between the two during the days prior to the rape and murder. Four friends of the suspected murderer were also arrested.
The rape and murder had snowballed into a major political controversy in the State and beyond, with the Opposition accusing the police under the Oommen Chandy government of having messed up the investigation during the initial stages.
However, reports coming from Perumbavoor now suggest that the arrest was made based on the evidence collected by the investigation team immediately after the murder. The new LDF Government had changed the head and some members of the original investigation team immediately on assuming office.
