Sunday, Apr 28, 2024 | Last Update : 02:15 PM IST
12 people held over RSS worker’s murder in Kerala
When the police reached the spot, they tried to hide in a nearby church, but were held by devotees and the police.
Thiruvananthapuram: 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.
Read: Kerala: RSS worker's hands, feet chopped off, dies; police detain 8
All the arrests will be recorded on Monday. As per the police sources, the accused, soon after the hacking, escaped to the outskirts. The police first arrested Pramod and later Shaiju when it identified the location of accused. When the police reached the spot, they tried to hide in a nearby church, but were held by devotees and the police.
They were being questioned by a team under IG Manoj Abraham when reports last came in. Poli-ce officials and CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan claimed that the attacks were not polticially motivated.
All the suspects had different political inclinations, he said. Minor violence where reported in the city at around the time of funeral procession, despite prohibitory or-ders being enforced in city until August 2. Rajesh was survived by his parents, wife and two children.
