THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Fear of losing turf if dissenting voices are not muffled on time led to the stabbing of third-year political science student Akhil Chandran by SFI unit office-bearers at University College here, said investigators.
They said the decision to attack Akhil was taken after a group of assailants, including Sivarenjith and A M Naseem, felt the need to crush divergent views fearing that their unquestionable authority in the college would be rocked if the students were allowed to get away.
“The accused were apprehensive that they might lose their control over the students. They wanted to put an end to the defiance. The attack was planned to teach opposing students a lesson,” a police officer told Express.
The details of planning and reason for the attack were revealed by Sivarenjith and Naseem during questioning. The two were apprehended by the police early on Monday. The police said the two were picked up from an autorickshaw near Kesavadasapuram when they were heading towards Kallara to find refuge in the house of Naseem’s relative. The police said Sivarenjith confessed to the crime during questioning.
The duo told the interrogators that the unit committee members were afraid the students might defy their diktat in the long run.“There have been minor run-ins between the unit committee members and the opposing students for the past few days. That culminated in them manhandling the students who sang inside the college canteen. Sensing that their vice-like grip on students was weakening, they decided to attack Akhil and other students,” said the officer.
Police’s efforts to identify other SFI members who took part in the crime got a shot in the arm after they managed to identify the students who had recorded videos of the melee. They have been contacted and the videos will be collected soon, said the police.
On the basis of the videos, more lookout notices will be issued against the culprits. So far, the police have issued lookout notices against eight people, of whom five have been apprehended. Sivarenjith and Naseem were later produced before the court and remanded till July 29. The police will file a request seeking their custody on Tuesday. They are now trying to trace the source of the knife that was used to stab Akhil. A senior cop said the knife was among the arms that were stored in secret locations on the college campus. These arms were handed over to the new set of SFI henchmen by the outgoing ones.
Raids on hostel and Students Centre
The police on Sunday night raided the University Hostel and the Students Centre but claimed they did not find any weapon. There were reports that iron rods were found from the hostel, but a senior officer said they were rods of pedestal fans.
House search delayed
It seems the police are dragging their feet in raiding the houses of the accused, with only two being raided so far. It was during the raid on Sivarenjith’s house that bundles of blank answer papers of Kerala University and the seal of its Physical Education Director were seized. The police said they recovered nothing from Naseem’s house.
