The police team probing the murder of Students Federation of India (SFI) activist Abhimanyu is set to submit the first set of chargesheet in the case in two weeks.
Officials said the investigation team is in the final stages of preparing the chargesheet against the seventeen persons arrested in connection with the case. The police are on the look out for at least 13 more persons including the eight people who were directly involved in the murder.
Abhimanyu M, an undergraduate student at Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam, was stabbed to death during a clash on the college campus around 12.45 a.m. on July 2.
“The witnesses have already identified eight members of the killer squad. The first set of chargesheet will be filed to prevent them from applying for a statutory bail. The supplementary chargesheet against the absconding accused will be filed when they are taken into custody,” said an officer.
Campus Front of India State secretary Muhammed Rifa; Saneesh, who had led the four-member gang from Palluruthy; and Muhammed JI, a student of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, are the three prime accused in the case. Rifa, who used to stay at Cochin House – a camp of Popular Front sympathisers, is accused of mobilising the killer squad.
The investigators also found that Saneesh had swished a knife towards Abhimanyu during the clash on the college campus, while culminated in the murder. There is, however, still no clarity on who exactly had stabbed the youth.
“It’s a case involving several accused persons and we need a lot of cross-checking and questioning to find out the exact details,” the official added.
Of the total 30 persons wanted in connection with the case, 16 were directly involved in the killing while the remaining are accused of involving in criminal conspiracy and harbouring the accused.
Meanwhile, the investigators suspect that the PFI leadership tried to sabotage the probe by imparting special training to the accused at a hideout in Pathanamthitta.
“They were trained to provide contradicting information to mislead investigators. Later, they were taken to different locations to surrender before the investigation team,” the official said.
