A covering is injective on the fundamental group
Let
Proof
Let
. Then [ Λ πΌ ] β k e r β‘ π 1 π . But πΌ = π β Λ πΌ β π π₯ 0 and Λ πΌ are the lifts of π Λ π₯ 0 and πΌ respectively, so by Third lemma Lifts of homotopies of paths π π₯ 0 , Therefore Λ πΌ β π Λ π₯ 0 and thus k e r β‘ π 1 π = { π } is a Group monomorphism. π
Therefore the characteristic subgroup of the covering