Thiruvananthapuram: Police on Thursday arrested five persons in connection with the murder of Anandhu Girish even as it suspected that others have escaped to Chennai.
Those arrested were Kiran Krishnan (Balu), Mohammed Roshan, Arun Babu, Abhilash and Ram Karthik, all aged between 19 and 21. The arrested were taken to the spot of the murder on Thursday.
The investigation suggested that clash between a groups led by Anandhu with another group hailing from Neeramankara during Konchiravila temple festival four days ago was the provocation for the crime. Police said 13 members of a Neeramankara based gang were involved in the case. Of them eight are believed to have to Chennai.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Commission chairperson Justice Antony Dominic has registered a case saying that police had delayed the investigation on the man missing case registered by the parents of Anandhu resulting in the murder. The city police commissioner has been asked to submit a report before the commission on the issue within four weeks. City police commissioner Kori Sanjay Kumar Gurudin, however, denied the allegation that there was a delay in investigation.
Police found visuals to suggest that the gang had celebrated the birthday of one of the gang members on Tuesday at the murder site. Drugs and alcohol were served during the party. It was during the party that the gang decided to murder Anandhu who was among the group who had beaten up a gang member. This place was one of the hideouts of the Neeramankara gang. Locals had earlier complained to the police alleging that the gang was miusing the place to take drugs.
Anandhu, a native of Konchiravila, was kidnapped from near Karamana by a gang on Tuesday evening and was found murdered in the bushes at a vacant plot of the BSNL regional training centre near a bike showroom at Kaimanam on the Karamana-Kaliyikkavila stretch of the national highway on Wednesday by his friends who were searching for him. Anandhu who completed his studies from ITI, Chackai was working with a catering service. Though police was on the lookout for the whereabouts of Anandhu from 3 pm on Tuesday, they could not get any information about his whereabouts.
The gang who came in two bikes had rounded of Anandhu and taken him in one of the bikes. Police have intensified the investigation into the case.
