Two political murders in under 12 hours shock Kerala
Two state-level leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were killed in an apparent retaliatory attack in Alappuzha on Sunday, police said
Two state-level leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were killed in an apparent retaliatory attack in Alappuzha on Sunday, police said. According to the police, eleven people have been arrested in the BJP leader’s murder case. Some of them are suspected to be directly involved in the case.
Tension gripped the district after back to back political murders and senior police officers have rushed to the district to avert further clashes. Two political murders in less than 12 hours shocked the state and prohibitory orders (Section 144) were clamped in the district for two days.
SDPI state secretary Shan KS (38) was stabbed to death by an unidentified gang on Saturday night and in less than 12 hours BJP OBC Morcha leader Ranjith Sreenivasan was hacked to death outside his house on Sunday. Police said the BJP leader was out for a morning stroll when an eight-member team of assailants pounced on him and stabbed him. He died on way to the hospital.
The SDPI leader was attacked while he was returning home in Mannacherry on his scooter. Assailants who came in a car first hit his two-wheeler and stabbed him repeatedly when he fell down, police said. The victim received multiple fractures and head injuries and later succumbed to his wounds in a private hospital in Ernakulam. He is survived by his wife and two children.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the twin political murders in Alappuzha and said, “the government will not allow anyone to take law into their hands. Such perpetrators will be dealt with sternly”.
The SDPI, political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), alleged Rashtriyaswayam Sewak Sangh’s (RSS) involvement in the attack but district leaders of the RSS denied any role.
“The RSS is trying to create mayhem by eliminating political opponents and silencing minority community members. It is a well planned and executed murder,” said Popular Front state president CP Mohammad Basheer. Police said they have identified the vehicles used in both the attacks.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithalaas asked leaders to rein in their workers and blamed police for recurring political murders. “It seems both are planned killings. Police should give a free hand to investigate such murders,” he said. CPI(M) leader J Chittaranjan, a local legislator, said parties should shed politics of violence.
Police said there was no immediate provocation for the SDPI leader’s murder but they suspect it could be a retaliation to the murder of an RSS worker in Vayalar last year. Clashes between RSS and SDPI workers take place regularly in many parts of the state. Last month, an RSS leader was stabbed to death in Palakkad in a similar manner.