Kerala Police has arrested four prime accused in the murder of local Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Shahjahan in Palakkad.
According to ANI, Deputy SP V Raju said, "Police have arrested four prime accused – Naveen, Anish, Shabrish and Sujish. Personal enmity is one of the reasons behind the crime. An investigation is underway."
The late night killing of Shahjahan, a local CPM leader, on the eve of Independence Day had seen a dramatic turn of events on Monday, 15 August, with an eyewitness initially claiming the culprits were party members and soon turned around to allege that they were Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) contended that the Left was trying to hide its alleged complicity in the murder.
The eyewitness, who was with the victim at the time of the attack on Sunday, told a TV channel in the morning that an eight-member group was waiting for them at the Marutha road and after some heated words were exchanged, two of the attackers hacked to death Kunnangadu resident Shajahan.
Shajahan was a local committee member of the CPI(M) and the incident happened around 9.30 pm on Sunday near the leader's house, police said.
Local Left leaders said the victim had been out arranging decorations for the Independence Day celebrations when the incident occurred.
After the incident, local CPI(M) leaders alleged that the "BJP and RSS were behind the murder." However, the BJP district leadership in a statement denied the allegation.
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