A sixth student has been arrested in connection with the murder of Muhammad Shahabas in Thamarassery, increasing the total number of accused to six. The arrested student was taken to the crime scene for investigation before being brought to the Thamarassery police station. Previously, five students were arrested and placed in a juvenile justice home. The violence that led to the Class 10 student’s death stemmed from a clash between students of Elattil Vattoli MJ Higher Secondary School and Thamarassery Higher Secondary School. The conflict reportedly began over a farewell program at a local tuition center and escalated when students from both schools clashed again three days later.
The accused students had recently completed their Class 10 examinations, sparking protests from opposition groups. Authorities had initially designated schools near the Vellimadukunnu Juvenile Detention Center as examination centers but later decided to hold the exam within the juvenile home due to concerns over further protests. Leaders from KSU, Youth Congress, and MSF staged demonstrations outside the juvenile home, prompting police intervention. Shahabas’s father condemned the decision to allow the accused to take their exams, arguing that it sent the wrong message.
Meanwhile, Thamarassery police are considering adding the father of the prime accused to the case, as he is suspected of supplying the weapon used in the attack. He has a criminal record at the Thamarassery police station and is linked to quotation gangs and political circles. Additionally, another accused student’s father is a police driver working under a senior district officer. Investigations further revealed that three of the accused were involved in a violent incident at Thamarassery School last year, where, as ninth-grade students, they had attacked eighth-grade students returning from tuition, injuring a female student.
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