A CPI(M) worker was allegedly hacked to death in north Kerala district of Kannur in the early hours of Monday, February 21, police said. Haridasan, a fisherman, was allegedly attacked by a gang of assailants in front of his house at Punnol near New Mahe around 1.30 am while he was returning home after work, they said. The 54-year-old man was rushed to a hospital in Thalassery by neighbours who reached the spot hearing the noise but he died on the way, police said. The body was shifted to Pariyaram Medical College Hospital.
Police said there was a CPI(M)-BJP clash in the Punnol area a week ago. The CPI(M) alleged that the party activist was hacked to death by a group of RSS-BJP men. The BJP has denied the allegation. The CPI(M) alleged that Haridasan was "brutally attacked by the RSS workers, hacked several times and severed one of his legs" to ensure his death. RSS has not reacted to the allegation.
Kannur, for long, has been the hotbed for political crimes, especially with the BJP/RSS and the CPI(M) taking on each other frequently. According to the CPI(M), in the past two years, Haridasan has become the tenth victim in Kannur. It is the bastion of the CPI(M) and also the home district of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.
Left Democratic Front convenor A Vijayaraghavan termed the murder a calculated move by the RSS/BJP workers to destroy peace in the state.
"Kannur is going to be the venue of our upcoming party conference and the murder is a calculated move by the Sangh parivar forces. This has come as a shocker and rocked the peaceful atmosphere," Vijayaraghavan told the media at the state party headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram.
Kannur CPI(M) district secretary M V Jayarajan alleged that Haridasan was killed with the knowledge of the top level BJP leaders of the district by the RSS workers.
"In an audio clip of a BJP councillor doing the rounds in social media, he can be heard saying that CPI(M) workers will be taken to task," said Jayarajan.
Meanwhile, an uneasy calm continues to prevail in the area following tension between the CPI(M) and the BJP/RSS workers over a temple festival last week.
However, Kannur district BJP president Haridas dismissed the allegations and termed it "baseless".
"The CPI(M) should does not name the culprits as that is police's job. There were issues in the area over the conduct of a temple festival. The BJP is a party which does everything to ensure peace prevails," said Haridas.
The CPI(M) has called for a total shutdown in the area.
With PTI and IANS inputs