THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has issued a notification for transferring the probe into the murder of RSS leader E Manoj to the CBI. Manoj, who was the RSS’ Kannur district shareerik pramukh, was hacked to death on September 1 allegedly by CPM workers.
“The notification was issued and sent to the Department of Personnel and Training [under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs] on Friday,” the Home Minister’s office said.
The RSS and the BJP had urged the government to recommend a CBI probe. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had said the case would be handed over to the CBI, after a report by DGP K S Balasubramanian recommended that a probe by the Central agency would be ideal as the case involved “conspiracy hatched in other states” and suspected “foreign links”. The government first reported the politically sensitive case to the NIA after invoking Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) charges against the accused.
As per law, NIA is to respond within 15 days on whether it is interested to take over the probe. Home Department sources said the agency was unlikely to take up the case as its priority is for cases with clear terrorist links.
The police invoked UAPA Section 15 which states that “whoever does any act with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country commits a terrorist act”.