Political violence on Sunday rocked northern parts of Kerala, which had witnessed the murder of a BJP activist and a CPI(M) worker on Friday, the Onam festival day, and subsequent violent incidents. Clashes between BJP and CPI(M) workers were reported late Sunday evening from Kasaragod while Kannur saw at least nine bomb attacks since Saturday night on houses of political leaders and workers.

Violence had erupted in various parts of the State after a BJP worker, Abhilash (31), was hacked to death allegedly by CPI(M) men near Vellikkulangara in Thrissur district and a CPI(M) activist, C Narayanan (45), was stabbed to death at Kayakkunnu in Kasaragod reportedly by BJP workers on Friday afternoon.

Reports from Kasaragod late Sunday evening said that seven persons — three BJP workers and four CPI(M) activists — suffered hack injuries in clashes at Kolavayal in the district. The condition of one of them was said to be critical and he had been rushed to a hospital in Mangalore. Sources said that more police personnel were being rushed to the area.

Two country-made bombs were hurled at the house of BJP’s Kannur district president K Ranjith at Palliyanmoola in Kannur allegedly by CPI(M) activists. Though the bombs thrown by men who had arrived on a motorbike at about 2.00 am Sunday caused extensive damage to the house, nobody was injured.

“Marxists are behind the attack. This is part of their conspiracy to spread violence,” Ranjith said. However, the Kannur area committee of the CPI(M) claimed that the party had nothing to do with the incident. Senior BJP leaders including former State presidents CK Padmanabhan and PK Krishnadas visited Ranjith’s house even as the police tightened security in the area.

The police had till Sunday evening registered 26 cases in connection with the violent incidents that had been continuing in the district since Friday night. About one hundred personnel of the Rapid Action Force were being rushed to the trouble-torn areas of the district. Many areas in Azhikode Panchayat in the district remained under prohibitory orders on Sunday also.

Bomb attacks were reported on Saturday night from Thalikavu, Pallikkunnu, Pannenpara, Chakkattu Peedika and other places in Kannur district. Two BJP workers, G Rajesh and KK Jithin, suffered injuries in the blast that took place at Thalikavu. A shop run by a BJP activist at Kadamberi in Kannur came under attack on Sunday morning. Meanwhile, ordinary people living in the sensitive areas of Kannur, where hundreds of lives had been lost in CPI(M)-BJP clashes in the past four decades, expressed the fear that the situation might worsen in the coming days in the context of the local bodies election to be held soon, most probably in November.

“Political tension in Kannur has this strange tendency of worsening whenever there is an election. It is a strategy the parties adopt to keep the supporters of the opponents in fear so that they would not come out openly for campaigning or even to vote. I think we are heading to that situation now,” said Saseendran, a retired Government employee at Pallikkunnu.

Kannur had not seen many serious incidents of political violence since the brutal murder of RSS leader Manoj of Elanthottathil at Kathiroor on September 1 last year by a Marxist killer gang.