The probe into the Abhimanyu murder case took a dramatic turn on Monday when a police team took the SDPI State leadership, including its State president, into preventive custody when they emerged from the Ernakulam Press Club after holding a press conference.
The drama unfolded around 2 p.m. when the police team apprehended P. Abdul Majeed Faizy, SDPI State president, along with its State vice president M.K. Manojkumar, general secretary Roy Arackal and Ernakulam district president P.K. Shoukath Ali. The police personnel, who reached the venue of the press conference in two teams, had already taken the the drivers of leaders’ vehicles — Zakeer from Malappuram and Rafeek from Perumbavoor — into custody.
Upon being apprehended, they were taken to the Ernakulam Central police station and grilled for about three hours.
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Earlier while addressing the media, the SDPI leaders denied any links to the Campus front of India, which is accused of executing the murder of Abhimanyu.
Officials said the custody of the SDPI leaders was part of the attempts to identify the location of the assailants who had murdered Abhimanyu. “We wanted to verify a few things in connection with the murder case as well as the High Court march case. They were released upon collecting statements,’’ said a senior officer.
This was the third time that Mr. Ali had been taken into police custody in connection with the case.
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The police have been conducting raids on the offices and residences of the various PFI and SDPI leaders following the gruesome killing of SFI leader Abhimanyu on July 1. So far, they have arrested 10 Campus Front of India and PFI workers in connection with the murder.
The Ernakulam Central Police has also launched a separate inquiry into the attack on police officers as part of a protest march organised to High Court against the Hadiya case verdict in 2017. Many SDPI leaders had been booked in connection with this case.