Kollam/Kottayam: A Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leader was reportedly among the abductors of Kevin Joseph who was apparently killed after being taken away by an armed gang on Sunday morning.
Police sources said one of the cars used by the gang was driven by one Niyaz, unit secretary of the DYFI at Edamon in Punalur. Niyaz and another DYFI worker Ishan have been expelled from the party's primary membership.
The police have filed a case against 10 people, including Shanu Chacko, brother of Kevin's wife Neenu Chacko. They have taken three people, Ishan, Niyaz and Riyaz into custody in connection with the case so far.
Kevin's body was found on Monday morning in the Chaliyakkara stream, near Thenmala, in Kollam district.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the UDF have called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kottayam district on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the situation around the Gandhinagar police station turned tense as Congress workers led by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA, staged a protest.
Kottayam SP Mohammed Rafique, who has been transferred over the issue, was assaulted amid a scuffle between Congress activists and the police. AIG Harishankar will be the new Kottayam SP as the incumbent Rafique was shunted out as the row over police inaction escalated.
Meanwhile, state police chief Lokanath Behera also sought a report from inspector general of police Kochi Range Vijay Sakhare.
It was a 10-member gang led by Neenu's brother Shanu that attacked Kevin's house in Kottayam and abducted him along with his relative Anish. The gang had arrived in three vehicles.