Nearly two months after the state headquarters - AKG Centre - of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) came under attack in Thiruvananthapuram, the Crime Branch wing of Kerala Police on Thursday, September 22, apprehended a man suspected of being behind the attack. On June 30, an unidentified person had hurled an explosive substance at AKG Centre.
A senior Crime Branch officer told PTI that the suspect Jithin was a local Youth Congress leader and a native of Kazhakootam and he had allegedly carried out the attack in retaliation against the vandalism of Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) offices. The officer said that the suspect was identified through scientific evidence, including CCTV visuals of the incident.
The probe was transferred to the Crime Branch after three weeks of the incident. CPI(M) had alleged that the Congress was behind the incident, as it came weeks after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s office was vandalised in Wayanad, allegedly by members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). However, Congress denied the allegations.
At around 11.30 pm on June 30, a motorbike-borne man hurled an explosive substance inside AKG Centre, which was alleged to be a “bomb attack”. A bomb squad also inspected the spot and later, based on CCTV visuals released by the CPI(M), it was seen that the explosive hit the stone wall of the AKG Centre.
A case was registered with the Cantonment police station on July 1 in this regard under Section 436 of the Indian Penal Code (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc.) and Section 3(a) of the Explosive Substances Act (causing explosion likely to endanger life or property) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).