The police on Thursday registered the arrest of four persons in connection with the murder of CPI(M) Marutharoad local committee member and Kunnamkad branch secretary Shajahan.
Shajahan was hacked to death by an eight-member gang at Kunnamkad near Malampuzha on Sunday night.
The arrest of Vishnu, Suneesh, Sivarajan and Satheesh was registered on Thursday. Four others, Aneesh, Sabareesh, Sujeesh and Naveen, whose arrest was recorded on Wednesday, were produced before a court on Thursday and remanded in judicial custody for two weeks.
The police said there were more persons involved in the crime. A special investigation team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, Palakkad, V.K. Raju is closely monitoring the movements of everyone who attended a Raksha Bandhan programme held two days before the murder.
The police said they could not rule out at this stage if the accused had got any support from outside. The police stuck on to their theory that the murder was a result of personal animosity maintained by the eight-member gang towards Shajahan.
Although the accused had CPI(M) background, they reportedly drifted away from the party and had begun to display an affinity towards right-wing Hindutva ideology.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) said that the accused had got the help of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
CPI(M) district secretary E.N. Suresh Babu said here that putting up Sreekrishna Jayanti flex boards and taking part in the RSS Raksha Bandhan programme indicated the RSS connection of the accused.
Mr. Babu said that the murder was executed with a clear plan and the culprits had the support of the RSS. He questioned the police theory asking what personal animosity led the accused to finish off Shajahan.
The CPI(M) alleged that the police were in a hurry to implement the agenda set by someone else.
Mr. Babu said that none of the accused was a CPI(M) member. He said Sabareesh and Aneesh had stood close to the party but were never members of the party.
