Minister’s aide held for Kerala murder

By Ashraf Padanna/ThiruvananthapuramPolice have arrested two men including an aide to a senior Kerala minister over the murder of a janitor in an office of the ruling Congress Party.B K Biju Nair, 38, the additional personal assistant of Power Minister Aryadan Mohamed, and Shamsudheen, 29, were arrested after the decomposed body of C Radha, 49, reported missing since last week, was fished out from a pond.Police also recovered the woman’s ornaments from Shamsudheen’s house.The woman was allegedly killed by the two men in the party’s office in Nilambur, the minister’s constituency in northern Kerala.Following interrogation, both admitted to the crime, the police said. Radha’s brother Bhaskaran alleged Nair admitted to the crime to save some powerful people.The incident came as a huge embarrassment for V M Sudheeran who took over as the party’s president in the state on Tuesday amid high expectations ahead of parliamentary elections just three months away.“The guilty, whoever they are, should be brought to book. The investigation is progressing and I can assure you that there would be no interference,” said Sudheeran.Activists of the opposition Left Democratic Party (LDF), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) staged protests.“Police are trying to shield some top guns. Many heads would roll if they conduct an impartial probe,” said Pinarayi Vijayan, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).Mohamed said he had removed Nair from his office and welcomed “any kind of probe.”“Police told me that there was some enmity between the woman and Nair and she was murdered to conceal some secrets,” he said. “He’s there and I’m here. How can I be involved?” he asked.