The wife of an RSS worker who was killed in Kerala’s Palakkad district in broad daylight on Monday, November 15 has said that she can recognise the killers. Arshika, the wife of 27-year-old Sanjith who was killed, narrated the gruesome incident to the media. She said that she saw about five people who came to attack her husband when they were travelling by bike to her workplace at 9 am on Monday. The attackers allegedly hit the bike with their car, and when Sanjith and Arshika fell down, they hacked Sanjith to death.
“I saw a white car parked nearby, but I don’t know what make or model. When we fell, one man dragged me and pushed me into a drain on the side of the road,” she said. Sanjith was hacked to death on the busy street with other bystanders present, including a schoolbus full of children. She further added, “They (the attackers) were not wearing masks. I can recognise them if I see them now.” The police said that the vehicle was a white Maruti car. Arshika is the primary eyewitness in the case.
The role of the activists of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political offshoot of Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), is suspected in the incident, police said, adding that an investigation has been launched to trace the accused who fled the scene after the incident.
According to Arshika, she suspected that Sanjith was under some kind of threat, but was not aware of the nature of the danger. She also told the media that she suspected that it was to do with the SDPI. Sanjith would never stay out for long in public and was always vigilant, she said. She also told the media that two days before his death, Sanjith received a call asking him to be careful, but was unsure whether the caller was a friend or if the message was a threat.
There is a history of conflict between the SDPI and RSS in the area. There was even an attempt on Sanjith’s life a few months ago, for which four SDPI workers were arrested. Sanjith himself had 11 cases booked against him by the police.
Condemning the killing of Sanjith, BJP state president K Surendran alleged it was a "planned murder" and blamed the state government and the police for such incidents recurring in the state.
It was also reported earlier that this was not the first attempt that was made to kill Sanjith. Last year, two members of the SDPI, identified as Sabeer Ali and Anwar Sadiq, were arrested while they were trying to flee to Tamil Nadu after trying to kill Sanjith. The Palakkad Town Police said that a case had been registered in June after the murder attempt.