Kerala RSS leader murder: Case filed against eight accused

Kannur: The Kathirur police registered a case against the eight accused in the murder of RSS Kannur district shikshak pramukh Elamthottathil Manoj under various sections,  including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), on Thursday.

Legal experts said that it was for the first time the provisions of the Act were   being slapped in a political murder.

It may be recalled that Manoj was hacked to death by unidentified culprits at Ukhasmotta, Kathiroor, near Thalassery, on Monday while he was travelling with a friend in a Maruti Omni van.

It was the Manmohan Singh government that gave teeth to UAPA in 2008 bringing an amendment to the Act by reintroducing some of the sections of the Prevention of Terrorism Act--2002 (POTA) which was repealed due to widespread complaints of human rights violations by the police.

The amendment was brought in  the backdrop of Mumbai terror attack in November 2008. POTA was imposed following the terror attacks on Parliament building in 2001.

The Act’s provisions were slapped on the culprits due to the  bomb explosion spreading terror in Kathiroor, it is  pointed out.  

Crime Branch ADGP S. Ananthakrishnan,  who is heading the investigation in the Manoj murder, told  reporters at Thalassery after the first meeting of the team members  that the  various sections in the Act would be helpful in the investigation.

He, however, dismissed allegations of vengeance saying that only those involved in the murder  would be in trouble.  

Various teams would be formed under the four DySPs for separate investigative steps, including tracking the culprits, interrogations, security and logistics.

CB officials would collect the statement of Pramod, who was seriously injured in the attack on Manoj. 

He  is convalescing at Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode. Police sources  said that the culprits involved in the incident  would be nabbed at the right time.