Shahabaz murder: Chargesheet filed against six students

Chargesheet filed against six suspects in Shahabaz murder case with strong evidence, including deleted social media messages.

The police have submitted chargesheet against six suspects in the Shahabaz murder case after a two-month long probe into the incident. The 205-page chargesheet was submitted before the Juvenile Justice Board last week with the detailed statements of 106 witnesses.

The suspected students had already been charged under sections 103 (1), 118 (2), 126 (2), 189 (2), 191 (2), 191 (3) and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Three among the unlicensed riders had also been charged under various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Though the police succeeded in gathering strong incriminating evidence against the six, including CCTV visuals from multiple spots and mobile phone messages, the recovery of deleted messages from various social media platforms was crucial to prove the conspiracy charges. Police sources revealed that they were yet to get any reply from Meta platform to the queries submitted as part of the investigation.

It was on March 1 that the minor student succumbed to the grave head injuries he had sustained during a clash between students at Thamarassery in Kozhikode. The assault stemmed from a minor argument between the students of two schools who used to gather for tuitions at a local training centre at Thamarassery.

The root of the clash was an argument over the stopping of music during a farewell party at the tuition centre attended by students from the Muhammedali Jauhar higher secondary School, Elettil and the Government Higher secondary school, Thamarassery on February 23.

The grave physical assault took place on February 27 near the tuition centre which caused a fatal head injury to Shahabaz. Later, six suspected students were nabbed by the Thamarassery police. The police were also able to gather evidence against the suspects’ involvement in an online conspiracy against the victim and the other preparations made to endanger him.

The students who were later sent to the Juvenile Home in Kozhikode city had been denied bail. However, they had been permitted to write the SSLC examinations. Their results which were initially withheld by the Department of Education were released following the intervention of the Kerala High Court.