Kerala Police arrested Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) activists who attacked RSS workers going home after the Vijayadashami procession in Karunagapalli, Kollam. Those detained have a history of criminality.
SDPI is the political wing of the banned Islamist terror outfit Popular Front of India (PFI). SDPI has councilors in all southern states and is allied with Congress and leftist outfits. The group is known to use Taliban-model attacks on opponents.
Karunagapally police arrested Naufal (26) of Karunagapally Thazhava, Yasim (24) of Kulasekharapuram Siya Mansil and Ajmal (23) of Thazhava. The accused attacked Akshay Kumar, Madhun Lal, and Kiran from Punnamkulam. The RSS workers were returning home and had alighted the bus at Puthiyakavu on Sunday evening after the RSS procession.
Following the incident, Akshay Kumar was admitted to Karunagappally Taluk Hospital with significant injuries. The terrorists broke his arm. Akshay and the other witnesses gave their statements to the police.
Witness statements and circumstantial evidence were used to identify the SDPI activists. Naufal and Ajmal are accused in several criminal cases. After being involved in cases, they absconded to Goa and Karnataka. This time, police units were deployed at various railway stations and bus stands to prevent the accused from escaping to other states.
The accused had turned off their cell phones, but the Karunagappally police team located their hiding place and apprehended them. The SDPI terrorists were detained at Kayamkulam, 15 km north of Karunagapally.
The incident could have easily led to law and order problems. It is believed this is why police intervened cautiously but swiftly. What might have happened in Kerala if RSS workers had assaulted SDPI processions? Police are investigating whether there is any other conspiracy behind the incident.
A team led by Karunagapally Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Pradeep Kumar, Police Inspector Biju V, SIs Shameer, Shajimon, and others arrested the accused.
Earlier this month, crude bombs were hurled at an RSS worker’s home in Thalassery, Kannur. The bomb attack occurred at Shaji Sreedharan’s house at Shreyas in Thalassery Kodiyeri. The bomb fell in the house’s yard and caused damage to the building and a car parked in the yard.
Soon after the PFI was banned last year, shocking details of the well-planned criminal activities of PFI had surfaced. According to the NIA, the PFI activists received firearms instruction at Karunagappally, in Kerala’s Kollam district. PFI conducted training here for the selected terrorists from all over Bharat. The crucial information was recorded while interrogating Abdul Sattar, State General Secretary of the banned organization.
In late September 2022. Sattar was taken into custody at the Karunya Trust (a PFI front) office in Karunagapally. He was the main accused in an illegal hartal called to oppose the PFI ban. PFI terrorists resorted to violence and arson during the hartal. Sattar’s two-storied house and 13 cents of land were later attached after the Kerala High Court hauled the state government for delayed recovery of damages caused by PFI terrorists.
