Student killing: Campus Front leader taken into custody

Kochi: A state leader of the Campus Front, a student organisation of the Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), has been taken into custody in connection with the killing of an SFI leader here earlier this month, police said on Thursday. 

Muhammed Rifa, state secretary of the Campus Front, who has been taken into custody had "strong involvement" in organising and executing the killing of the Ernakulam Maharajas College student Abhimanyu, they said. Rifa, a law graduate student hailing from Kannur district, was reportedly apprehended from Bengaluru. 

Police suspect that Rifa has also a leadership role along with the outfit's leader in the Maharajas College, Muhammed, in organising the gang and executing the crime. 

So far, 14 people have been arrested in connection with the case, besides, one Fasaluddin, who allegedly assisted the killer gang, has surrendered before a magistrate court here, police said. 

Last week, the police had arrested Maharajas College student and prime accused in the case, Muhammed. Muhammed, who is also a third year Arabic degree student in the Maharajas College, had allegedly organised the gang of 15 to 17 men comprising activists of the PFI, its political offshoot SDPI and the Campus Front, to attack SFI activists on the college campus early this month. 

Adhil, a Campus Front Ernakulam district committee member from Aluva area, was arrested on July 15 from his house. Police had on Wednesday arrested Saneesh, a member of the gang which committed the crime. While Abhimanyu was stabbed to death, two other SFI activists suffered grievous injuries in the attack allegedly using sharp-edged weapons. 

Police had earlier 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 blasphemy. They said Manaf, the third 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 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 the SDPI, the PFI and Campus Front after the killing of Abhimanyu, police have taken several of their workers into preventive custody.