KOCHI: In a major breakthrough in the Abhimanyu murder case, the police team has picked up the Campus Front of India leader and final year student of Maharaja's College who is allegedly the key conspirator of the killing.
Mohammed, 20, a native Arookutty, Alappuzha was taken into custody from Kerala- Karnataka border, near Mangalore on Tuesday night.
Ernakulam Range IG Vijay Sakhare said Campus Front leader Muhammed, who is the first accused in the killing of the Ernakulam Maharajas College student Abhimanyu, has been taken into custody.
"We have got him. It's a big breakthrough," Sakhare told PTI.
According to the officers, the interrogation of the arrested is underway at Ernakulam Central Police station. Police officers said that a 15-member gang operated the gruesome murder on July 1.
Mohammed, Maharaja's College unit president of CFI called the outsiders to unleash attack on SFI workers. So far, police arrested 11 persons in connection with the case.
Of this, five accused, including Mohammed were directly involved in the crime. Earlier, on Sunday police arrested a Campus Front of India (CFI) activist, who is one among the alleged perpetrators of the gruesome murder.
Adil, 20, son of Abdul Salim, of Chunangamveli in Aluva, and a CFI district committee member, was picked up from his residence. The officers said Adil was directly involved in the murder and was part of hatching the conspiracy.
According to PTI, Muhammed, who is also a third year Arabic degree student in Maharajas College, allegedly organised the gang of 15 to 17 men comprising activists of Popular Front of India (PFI), its political offshoot SDPI and student outfit Campus Front, to attack SFI activists in the college campus early this month.
While Abhimanyu was stabbed to death, two other SFI activists suffered grievous injuries in the attack allegedly using sharp-edged weapons.
Police had yesterday informed the Kerala High Court that a man, who was one of the accused in the case relating to chopping off the hand of a professor in 2010, had a key role in the killing of Abhimanyu.
Joseph's right hand was chopped off on July 4, 2010, while he was returning home after attending Sunday mass at a church in Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district, on charges of blashphemy.
They said Manaf, the 13th accused in the case had an important role in executing the killing of the SFI leader.
A division bench, comprising Justice P R Ramachandra Menon and Devan Ramachandran, was considering three separate pleas filed by relatives of the alleged accused in the killing, alleging harassment by police probing the case.
Dismissing the pleas, the court had said the petitioners' apprehensions were unfounded and directed police to go ahead with the probe into the killing.
Launching a state-wide crackdown on the activities of SDPI, PFI and Campus Front after the killing of Abhimanyu, police have taken their several workers into preventive custody.
(with PTI inputs)