RSS man hacked after attack on CPI(M) cadre in volatile Kannur

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 26-year-old RSS worker was hacked to death in Thillankeri in politically-volatile Kannur district on Saturday, hardly two hours after a CPI(M)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A 26-year-old RSS worker was hacked to death in Thillankeri in politically-volatile Kannur district on Saturday, hardly two hours after a CPI(M) worker was injured in a bomb attack in the same area. This is the fifth political murder in the district since the Left Front government came to power three months back.

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Police said that a suspected group of CPI(M) workers, after hurling country-made bombs, attacked Bineesh with sharp-edged weapons. He suffered serious injuries to his head and legs and later succumbed at a private hospital. The RSS has called a shutdown in the district to protest against the killing.

The retaliatory attack on Bineesh took place about two hours after a CPI(M) worker was injured in a bomb attack allegedly carried out by RSS workers. Police are keeping a strict vigil in the area to avert further clashes.

The enmity between the two cadre-based parties in Kannur dates back at least three decades and has claimed more than 250 lives. Kannur is to the CPI(M) in Kerala what Nagpur is to the RSS. Feudalism, poverty, a complex caste system and backwardness had helped it penetrate the area easily. All its legendary leaders like AK Gopalan, EK Nayanar and KPR Gopalan belonged to this area. When the RSS started making inroads in the area, tension started between the two parties.