Ernakulam: Two weeks after the brutal murder of SFI leader Abhimanyu at Maharaja's College in Ernakulam, the Kerala police are investigating the role of activists of PFI and its allied organisations, said top officers, adding, the raids on PFI centres would continue.
The police had conducted search at several offices of PFI - Popular Front of India - soon after the murder at the Maharaja's College as initial indications proved the role of the PFI and its students' wing Campus Front of India.
Instructions have been received from the office of the state police chief as well as the inspector general of police, Ernakulam range, to take stock of PFI activities and collect maximum details that can help establish its link to the murder, said Rahul R Nair, district police chief (Ernakulam Rural).
On Friday morning, PFI state vice-president AH Nasser was taken in preventive detention from his house at Kanjiramattom in Ernakualm district by the Mulanthuruthi police. Two SDPI activists were also taken into preventive custody along with Nasser. They are Kanjiramattom Kottayil Kabeer, the Piravom constituency president of SDPI, and Amballur Naripparayil Shameer, the Kanjiramattom branch president of the same organisation. They were allowed to go after verifying the details, said the police.
SDPI or the Social Democratic Party of India is PFI's political wing.
“We cannot rule out the involvement of Popular Front in the murder, but we need more links to establish it, and that is why the raids are being conducted. Nasser was taken in preventive custody to verify many documents and information. There were already raids taking place in the houses as well as the offices to check any kind of extremist links, including the distribution of literature. Now, after the murder of Abhimanyu, there is a renewed focus.
“We, as well as the officers at other neighbouring districts, received a letter from the DGP and IGP Kochi range, requesting assistance in cracking the links to the murder. Generally extremist literature and extremist views are being released through various media, including social media. They may provide some clue as to how the murder was executed,” said Nair.
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