KOCHI: The police have arrested Mohammed Rifa, allegedly one of the key conspirators in the murder of SFI leader Abhimanyu, who was stabbed to death at Maharaja’s College in Ernakulam. Thalassery native Rifa, who is studying law in Kochi and is the Campus Front of India (CFI) state secretary, was arrested from Bengaluru.
According to the police, Rifa is suspected to have summoned the gang to the campus when trouble started brewing between SFI and CFI activists.
The assailants came to Maharaja’s College on June 30 night along with Rifa as per the call made by J I Mohammed, CFI Maharaja’s College unit president and an accused in the murder case. Rifa will be brought to Kochi and produced before the court, said police officers.
Meanwhile, the officers are yet to confirm whether Rifa was a member of the squad that executed the murder. During interrogation, the police confirmed his presence on campus during the time when the clashes broke out.
One more suspect, identified as Fazaluddin, surrendered before a magistrate during the day. He is accused of aiding the killer squad to go into hiding following the murder. So far, 15 men have been held in connection with the case.
Earlier, Saneesh, 28, a native of Palluruthy who is a member of the Social Democratic Party of India’s trade union, was taken into custody based on the statement of Fort Kochi native Riyas, an accused in the case. Officers are also examining whether it was Saneesh who stabbed Abhimanyu during the clash with the SFI activists.
Meanwhile, official sources indicated that the probe team have taken all the suspects in the case into custody and their arrests will be recorded in the next few days. According to them, the probe team is planning to conduct an identification parade of the accused.