In a major breakthrough, the police team investigating the brutal murder of Maharaja’s College student and Students Federation of India (SFI) activist Abhimanyu netted the prime accused in the case.
Muhammad, 20, BA Arabic student and the college unit president of the Campus Front of India (CFI), student wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), was nabbed from a train near Mangalapuram in the early hours of Wednesday, police sources said.
According to available information, the accused had moved to Goa via Kannur after Abhimanyu was stabbed to death on the night of July 1. Reportedly, he took shelter in a mosque there before allegedly getting in touch with PFI leadership to shift the hiding place.
That phone call seems to have done him in as the investigation team had put the mobile phones of all connected to the accused under surveillance. The police move to take a few leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) when they emerged from a press conference in Kochi on Monday is also being seen as part of this larger ploy.
The accused who was brought to Kochi was interrogated all through the day and that seems to have shed some light on what might have led to the gruesome crime. The CFI was determined to have their graffiti on the walls in front of the college campus, and for which they had the blessings of the party leadership, though they were booked by the SFI.
It is learnt that it was decided not to cede the wall to the SFI at any cost and to put up a violent resistance in the event things came to such a pass. This led to skirmishes between those who came to write the graffiti and SFI activists.
According to the police, Muhammad had summoned the armed group and in the resultant melee Abhimanyu was fatally injured. However, there is no clarity yet as to who actually stabbed the victim though the police remain optimistic of cracking the case now that they had nabbed the prime accused. Based on CCTV footage from the area, the police remain under the impression that a short fellow had stabbed the student.
Muhammad had previously served as the Alappuzha district president of the CFI and is learned to be the Vaduthala unit president of the SDPI.
Meanwhile, Shanavaz, alias Shaan, of Thalassery was also arrested on charges of aiding the accused to go hiding.
