Despite holding that the murder of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] local leader P.B. Sandeep Kumar was an act of personal vendetta by the key accused, the police have now included political rivalry as one of the reasons behind the killing.
A remand report of the accused, submitted before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Thiruvalla on Friday, stated that the Jishnu Raghu, the key accused, was an active member of the Yuva Morcha and while three among the remaining four workers, including Nandu and his brother Abhijith, were associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
As per the report, the key accused had nursed personal as well as political grudge towards the deceased. It further stated that the accused had unleashed a violent attack on Sandeep Kumar with an intention to kill him.
The accused were remanded to judicial custody for 14 days and shifted to the COVID-19 care centre in Alappuzha.
Though the police had caught all persons accused in the crime within hours, they came under severe criticism for ruling out the angle of political killing during the preliminary investigation stage itself. Besides the local CPI(M) leadership, party State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also took a strong exception to this stance adopted by the police.
Sandeep Kumar, secretary of the Peringara local committee branch of the CPI(M), was hacked and stabbed to death by the five-member gang late on Thursday. The accused have been booked under eight charges, including murder, unlawful assembly and criminal intimidation, among others.
Meanwhile, the police will soon move an application to get custody of the accused for interrogation.
