Staff Reporter
KANNUR
The police on Tuesday arrested Thalassery municipal councillor Lijesh and RSS activists Amal Manoharan, Vimin, and Sumesh in connection with the murder of fisherman and Communist Party of India (Marxist) activist Haridas at Punnol in Thalassery a day earlier. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder, the police said. The arrests were made after going through calls made on WhatsApp and based on a few other pieces of evidence. The police are investigating whether they were directly involved in the murder. On Monday, the police had taken into custody seven persons. The police have intensified their search for the bike on which the accused travelled at the time of the crime. Haridas, 54, was hacked to death while returning home from the sea. The CPI(M) has blamed the BJP for the attack but the party leadership has denied the allegations. Commenting on the arrests, CPI(M) district secretary M.V. Jayarajan said that the BJP district president’s response that the party had no role in the murder was to mislead the people.
Meanwhile, BJP workers condemned the arrest of party workers in Kannur and Thalassery on Tuesday evening. They staged a protest march alleging that the arrests were carried out at the behest of the CPI(M). The protesters said that those arrested had been framed in a false case.
