Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 2 (IANS): The father of a second year BVSc student from Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University alleged on Saturday that his son Siddarth was murdered and did not commit suicide. Siddarth was found hanging in his college in Wayanad on February 18.

Siddarth’s father, who had arrived home from the Middle East after hearing about his son’s death, said on Saturday that he was certain that his son was murdered as he was not the kind of person who would commit suicide.

SFI activists are on the radar of suspicion in the case and the main Opposition parties in the state, the Congress and the BJP are staging protests across Kerala demanding action against them.

At least 18 students of the college were arraigned and 13 of them have either been arrested or are in custody.

On Saturday, police said that one of the prime accused Kashinath surrendered before them, while another main accused, Cinjo Johnson, was taken into custody from his relative’s home in Kollam District.

The police have issued a look out notice for four others.

Meanwhile, Siddarth’s father alleged that some of the accused were surrendering because they had been advised to do so by the CPI-M leaders who were aware of what happened to his son.

He further alleged that news of a complaint against his son was a ploy to divert attention from the real issue.

Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, said on Saturday the crime was committed by a group led by the SFI, which is part of a drug mafia.

“The police have also played their role in converting a murder into a suicide,” said Muraleedharan.