Four more men were on Tuesday arrested in connection with the murder of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker A. Sreenivasan at Melamuri. The police identified them as Abdul Rahman, Firos, Rishil, and Basit.
Abdul Rahman and Firos were from Sanghuvarathodu and were directly involved in the murder. Rishil and Basit from Parakkunnam were responsible for preparing the list of the people to be attacked.
So far, 13 persons were arrested in connection with Sreenivasan’s murder. All of them, the police said, were Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) workers.
The police said some more persons were to be arrested in connection with the killing. Sreenivasan, 45, former shareerik shikshak pramukh or physical trainer of the RSS, was hacked to death at his auto shop at Melamuri around 1 p.m. on April 16 by a six-member gang who came on three bikes.
His murder was in apparent retaliation for the killing of SDPI worker A. Mohammed Subair, 44, at Elappully on April 15. A gang of RSS men in two cars allegedly knocked down Subair and his father Aboobacker when they were returning home from Juma prayers on a bike, and hacked him to death.
The police said they arrested three of the six men who were directly involved in Sreenivasan’s murder. Apart from Abdul Rahman and Firos, Iqbal, who was arrested earlier, too was among the six assailants. Three more persons directly involved in the murder were absconding.
The police said Basit and Rishil had not only prepared the list of three targets but also showed their houses. Sreenivasan was one of the three RSS targets prepared by the SDPI men for retaliatory strike.
The police said the RSS worker’s murder was planned by the SDPI men when Subair’s body was in the District Hospital morgue.
