The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to take over the probe into the UAPA cases against two students who were arrested by the Kerala police recently from Kozhikode for allegedly distributing pro-Maoist pamphlets.
20-year-old Alan Suhaib and 24-year-old Thaha Fazal, two students from Kozhikode, were arrested by the police from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode for allegedly distributing pro-Maoist pamphlets following the gunning down of alleged Maoists by the Thunderbolt force in the forests of Palakkad.
The duo where then booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
"We have re-registered the case on Wednesday and will take over the investigation in the coming days," a NIA official told PTI.
The Kerala High Court on November 27 had dismissed the bail petitions of the two students, who were CPI(M) activists.
The court had admitted the evidence submitted by the police to prove the arrested students had Maoist links and denied them bail.
The arrest of the two students charging them with the UAPA law, which is often termed draconian, had created an uproar against the CPI(M)-led LDF government. Both are now in judicial custody.
As per reports, the NIA team will reach Kozhikode on Friday for preliminary investigation. The FIR was registered after Ministry of Home Affairs issued a notification regarding taking over the case.
Meanwhile, the DYFI, youth wing of CPI(M), has come out reportedly stating that they believe the police’s accusation that the duo are Maoist. DYFI state secretary AM Raheem said that DYFI believes the police findings in the case.
The DYFI’s statement comes after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan recently said that both Alan and Thaha are Maoists and that they are not CPI(M) workers. Following this, Kozhikode district committee of CPI(M) had come out supporting the Chief Minister’s point. And now, DFYI leaders too have repeated the same.
The arrest of the two students by charging them with draconian UAPA for allegedly distributing pro Maoist pamphlets was even condemned by CPI(M) leaders like Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury. Yechury had even earlier said that the party will look into legal ways to help the students.
(With inputs from PTI)