Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 22 (IANS): A week after the brutal daylight murder of a 26-year-old RSS worker in Palakkad district, the police have taken into custody three people.

The police have been on a massive manhunt since the crime took place and they say of the three in custody, two had a direct role in it.

Since the crime took place, by now the police have questioned about three dozen people, before they zeroed in on three, who are being questioned, said a source in the know of things.

The police however points out that there are more people directly and indirectly involved in it and have marked out another eight more people and by now extensively searched in nearby Tamil Nadu state, which the police suspect, many have gone into hiding.

Sanjith, 26, while travelling on his bike with his wife was waylaid by a group of four people alleged to be workers of the SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) at 9 a.m. on Monday morning and brutally murdered at Ellapully in Palakkad district.

The local and state level BJP leaders have alleged that this is nothing but a well planned political murder by the SDPI workers.