A local resident, an alleged RSS sympathiser who committed suicide later, planned and executed the arson out of spite, the police say; the incident occurred in Sept. 2018, at the peak of Sabarimala agitation
A local resident, an alleged RSS sympathiser who committed suicide later, planned and executed the arson out of spite, the police say; the incident occurred in Sept. 2018, at the peak of Sabarimala agitation
The Crime Branch has claimed a breakthrough in the firebombing of the Kundamankadavu ashram of Sandeepananda Giri, a spiritual guide and vocal critic of the Sangh Parivar, during the peak of the Sabarimala agitation, on the city’s outskirts in October 2018.
Officials said investigators were verifying a claim that a local resident, Prakash, an alleged RSS sympathiser who committed suicide later, had planned and executed the arson out of spite for Sandeepananda’s much-televised statements. Their investigations were reportedly based on information provided by his brother Prasanth.
The agency has reportedly recorded the statement and sought the informant’s willingness to repeat what he has stated as a sworn statement in front of a magistrate under Section 164 of the Cr.PC. An official said the agency was verifying whether other persons were involved in the crime.
Parties trade charges
The high-profile crime had triggered a political controversy in Kerala, with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting the “progressive Hindu ascetic” for arguing in favour of the Supreme Court ruling that threw open the Sabarimala shrine to women of all age groups.
The BJP struck back by alleging the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] had orchestrated the crime with the help of ashram insiders to alter the political narrative in favour of the beleaguered LDF government.
The BJP alleged that the entire episode smacked of a conspiracy to vilify Ayyappa devotees who were struggling to protect their faith. It said somebody had switched off the home security cameras to aid the staged attack. The BJP alleged that the CPI(M) leadership was complicit in the crime.
A breakthrough in the case had eluded the local police for over four years though Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other top functionaries had visited the crime scene and termed the arson an assassination attempt.
Reports of ‘stranger’
The police had prepared a facial composite of the person suspected to be responsible for the arson based on the descriptions of some local persons who reported that they saw a “stranger” recording the blaze on a mobile phone in the early hours of October 27.
The police had traced the provenance of a funeral wreath left behind by the arsonist at the crime scene, purportedly as a warning to the Sandeepananda, to a florist shop. The fire gutted three cars and partially damaged the building.
