In a gruesome incident allegedly fuelled by inter-gang rivalries, two people were hacked to death in Parappuram near Mundoor in Thrissur district in the wee hours on Wednesday.
The police said the deceased have been identified as Paravattani Veettil Shyam (24), a resident of Mundur and Chowallur Veettil Christo (25), a resident of Mundathikode. Two others, Rajesh and Shambu alias Prasad, were attacked and are injured.
The victims were travelling on two separate motorcycles and were being chased down by a pickup van, driven by members of a rival gang. The van knocked Shyam and Cristo, who were on one motorcycle, down from their bikes and then around six assailants emerged from the van and stabbed them to death with daggers. The van chased down the other motorcycle and hit Rajesh and Shambu, injuring them.
According to the police, the assailants had also hurled a country-made crude bomb at the victims, but apparently, it did not explode. The bomb squad and police officials later defused it.
The two injured persons have been admitted to medical college hospital and Rajesh’s condition is serious, with doctors saying he needs neurosurgery. Shambu has suffered only minor injuries, the doctors said.
The victims and assailants were members of ‘ganja gangs’ and one of them was led by Shambu while the other by a man named Siju, from Varadiam. The rivalry between them had aggravated after excise officials detained a member of Siju’s gang with ganja in Thrissur recently. Siju’s gang members have suspected Shambu’s henchmen of betraying them.
The police said the assailants appear to have crossed the state boundaries. They have not been able to locate the pickup van, with which the two victims were knocked down. However, the police have retrieved the CCTV visuals of the attack and the dagger used to kill the two has also been recovered from the crime scene.
The police said they have identified the perpetrators by questioning Shyam. Search operations are on to trace the accused, the police said.
The twin murder has sent shock waves in the area, with the latest incident reviving the fears of the residents that 'criminal elements' have returned to the area. The residents are also worried about the possibilities of the political and communal dimensions to such group clashes.