University college stabbing: Two more held

Representational picture

Thiruvananthapuram: Two Students Federation of India (SFI) leaders, the prime accusedin the stabbing of a student inside the campus of the famed UniversityCollege here, were arrested Monday, police said. The accused, identified as R Sivaranjith and N Nazeem, were serving as the president and secretary respectively of the left student union's unit at the heritage college.

University College is popularlyknown as the red-fort of the ruling CPI(M). The two were in hiding for the last three days after a degree student had been stabbed on the chest inside the campus on July12, they said. Akhil, a third year Political Science student, was attacked and stabbed in broad daylight while sittingunder a tree along with friends. The incident was allegedly a sequel to a dispute between two groups of students belonging to the pro-CPI(M) students wing. The main accused duo were taken into custody from Kesavadasapuram here in mid night while they were on their way to a new hide out, police said. "Their arrest has been recorded and interrogation is going on," a police official told PTI. With this, the total number of SFI leaders arrested in the case has become six.

The stabbing incident inside the heritage campus, located just few meters away from the administrative hub Secretariat, has triggered widespreadpublic outcry in the state. Police had issued a lookout notice against eight SFI college unit office bearers in this regard. The SFI leadership had alreadysuspended the college unit committee after the national leaders tendered an apology. Senior CPI(M) leaders have openly lashed out against the incident in the college campus.

On Sunday, the police raided the house of Shivranjith and recovered four bundles of unused answer sheets of Kerala University. Shivranjith and Nazeem are also rank holders in the Public Service Commission exam conducted for selecting Civil Police Officers (CPO) and were expecting posting soon. One of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher education in India, the University College here was established in 1866 to impart English educationto the common people of the erstwhile Travancore by the then king Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma Maharaja.

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