Kerala political killings: Several suspects in custody, says police

Alappuhza(Ker), Dec 21: Claiming 'good development" in the investigation of the recent killings of SDPI's K S Shan and BJP functionary Ranjith Sreenivas here, the police on Tuesday said several suspects have been taken into custody and interrogation is progressing fast to identify whether they were directly involved in the crime.

While SDPI state secretary Shan was killed by a gang on Saturday night while he was on his way back home, the BJP OBC Morcha state secretary, Sreenivas was hacked to death in front of his family by some assailants in his house on Sunday morning. ADGP (Law and Order) Vijay Sakhare, who is heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the two separate cases, said all aspects including the conspiracy angle would be investigated after the culprits are identified.

Social media surveillance has been intensified in connection with the murders, the officer said and warned of stringent action against those putting up provocative and illegal posts. The senior IPS officer also said there is good development in the investigation and he and his team were expecting to get a "breakthrough" in the case soon.

"We have taken several suspects into the custody. But it is too early to say whether they were directly involved in the crime. Our immediate target is to complete the interrogation at the earliest, identify the culprits and record their arrest," Sakhare told reporters here. No specific confirmation could be given right now unless the story is clear to the investigators, he said.

Seeking to maintain the law and order situation and to check recurring of similar crimes, raids have been carried out across the district and several history sheeters have been taken into custody, the official added.

The Police on Monday had arrested two persons in connection with the death of Shan and claimed "substantial lead" in the investigation into the murder of Sreenivas.