12 held for RSS man’s murder
Twelve persons were held on Sunday in connection with the murder of RSS basti Karyavahak S.L. Rajesh, 34 at Sreekariyam, Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
Most of the accused were detained early in the morning from an abandoned house in a rubber plantation on the outskirts of Kattakada.
The accused identified as Manikuttan, Pramod, Vijith, Vipin and Aby had reportedly hacked the RSS leader, cut off his left hand and threw it away. The others named Arun, Mony, Bayee and Shaiju had offered support to the suspects.
All the arrests will be recorded on Monday. As per the police sources, the accused, soon after the hacking, escaped to the outskirts. Police first arrested Pramod and later Shaiju when they identified the location of accused. When police reached the spot, they tried to hide in a nearby church, but were held by devotees and police.
A day after the incident, home minister Rajnath Singh voiced concern over attacks on political workers in Kerala and said political violence was unacceptable in a democracy. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office here said Singh spoke to him this morning over phone.
“The Chief Minister informed him that the state government would take action against the accused, whoever they may be. Mr Rajnath expressed satisfaction on this stand,” the CMO said in a Facebook post.