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SITs formed to probe 2 political murders in Kerala’s Palakkad in 24 hours
More than 50 people belonging to the SDPI and RSS have been taken into preventive custody so far. More forces have been summoned to maintain law and order in Palakkad, the officer said.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in Palakkad district of Kerala on Sunday and special investigation teams (SITs) have been formed to probe the murders of two political workers belonging to Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in less than 24 hours this week, police said.
More than 50 people have been taken into preventive custody and police have some good clues and leads in the cases, they added.
Speaking to reporters, additional director general of police (ADGP) Vijay Sakhre said section 144 of CrPC was imposed in the district till Wednesday to prevent any flare-up of the murders.
“Both murders were well-planned and executed. Police have their own limitations in such cases,” Sakhre, who is camping in the district, said.
More than 50 people belonging to the SDPI and RSS have been taken into preventive custody so far. More forces have been summoned to maintain law and order in the area, the officer said.
On Friday, P Subair (43), a worker of SDPI – the political wing of Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) – was stabbed to death by a group of assailants when he was returning home on a motorbike with his father after Friday prayers. SDPI state secretary PK Usman alleged that the RSS was behind the killing.
A day later, RSS leader SK Srinivasan (45) was allegedly hacked to death by bike-borne assailants at his motorbike shop in Melamuri. The district leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed PFI and SDPI for the attack.
Sakhre refuted allegations that the police failed to prevent the RSS leader’s murder, on Saturday, despite there being a possibility of retaliation after Subair’s killing on Friday.
It was “very very difficult” to prevent a planned murder and both the killings were ‘well planned’, he told news agency PTI.
While four RSS workers were among those taken into custody in connection with Subair’s killing, the bikes used in Sreenivasan’s murder were identified, district police chief R Viswanad said.
The killings sparked a political row in the state.
“The home portfolio is handled by the chief minister (Pinarayi Vijayan). Repeated murders of political leaders exposes his inefficiency,” minister of state for external affairs V Muraleedharan said.
Hitting back, SDPI general secretary P K Usman alleged violence in Kerala is a part of the “sangh parivar’s agenda which seeks to make the state a battleground and isolate the minority community members”.
Power minister K Krishnankutty, who belongs to the district, said the state government “will not allow any trouble in Palakkad”.
“Brutal killing is not part of any politics. Strict measures will be taken to ensure peace and harmony in the district,” he said.
Eight political murders have taken place in the last six months, in the state. The brutal murders within a span of 24 hours are similar to the twin murders of Alapzuha in last December.
“The current situation in the state is highly volatile and anyone can be killed anywhere. Political murders are becoming a routine in the state and killer gangs are making rounds without any fear,” state Congress chief K Sudhakaran said.
CPI(M) But CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, however, said police have limited roles in such selective and planned killings. “These groups plan and execute murders and blame police later. If both decide, such killings will not happen,” he said.
Data available with the state on crimes suggest that retaliatory killings, which remained prevalent in north Kerala’s Kannur district for several years, have spread to other areas of the state.
“In recurring bloodshed, women and children are the worst sufferers as they turn orphans in a split of a second. We need sincere efforts from political parties to end the politics of dagger and disown criminals who often fan trouble, otherwise such killings will continue to rise,” Vadakara MLA K K Rema, widow of Marxist renegade T P Chandrasekharan, who was hacked to death by a gang of miscreants in a plan plotted by CPI(M) in 2012, said.
