KOZHIKODE: In a major setback to the CPM, another party member has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday in connection with the murder of BMS leader Payyoli Manoj. The arrested has been identified as K K Preman, a local committee member of CPM from Payyoli.
According to sources, Preman was arrested by the CBI and will be produced before the CJM court in Kochi on Monday. He is the tenth to be booked by the CBI with regard to the case in the past two weeks.
Earlier, the CBI had arrested nine persons on December 28, 2017, including senior CPM leaders such as former area secretary Chanthumash, local secretary P V Ramachandran, Payyoli municipal councillor Lijesh, Payyoli local committee member C Suresh, DYFI leader N C Musthafa, Kumaran, Ratheesh, Anoop and Arun Das.
Payyoli Manoj was hacked to death on February 12, 2012, by a group of assailants in front of his family. The CBI took over the probe into the case after the Kerala High Court ordered a CBI investigation in January 2016.