A spurt in incidents of political violence in Kerala at a time when all parties are preparing for the crucial Assembly election to be held on May 16 has intensified the fear that the State is perhaps set to witness a highly turbulent election process this time.
latest among such incidents are the brutal murder of a 29-year-old Youth Congress worker in Alappuzha district early Tuesday morning and the clashes that took place at Kattayikkonam in Thiruvananthapuram late Monday night over an “anti-people” city master plan in which several BJP men, including former State chief V Muraleedharan, suffered injuries.
Observers and a section of State police officials say that the frequency of violent incidents may increase in the coming days as electioneering gets hotter for what is being described as the most crucial election in recent history which is witnessing the emergence of a powerful BJP-led front against the main coalitions headed by the Congress and the CPI(M).
“Tension is undoubtedly building up in several places, especially those known as sensitive traditionally, but as of now there is no indication that this can lead to widespread violence. One is not sure if the current incidents have anything to do with the polls but caution is absolutely necessary,” said a retired senior police official who had been with the Intelligence wing.
The incident in Thiruvananthapuram took place late Monday night during a BJP protest against an alleged move to revive a flawed city master plan. As per eyewitness accounts, the BJP workers were staging protest at Kattayikkonam junction when they were attacked by the CPI(M) men who were returning after an agitation in front of the State Secretariat.
Many BJP workers suffered injuries in the attack and the condition of three of them was said to be serious. V Muraleedharan had to be admitted to the Medical College Hospital. Several policemen also suffered injuries. BJP leaders alleged that the “adjustment politics” being played by the ruling Congress and Opposition CPI(M) was the reason behind the tension.
Evoor near Cheppad in Alappuzha district witnessed a gruesome incident early Tuesday morning when a ten-man killer gang hacked to death Youth Congress worker Sunil Kumar of Sunil Bhavanam. The gang first surrounded Sunil’s house and then knocked at the door asking him to come out.
As the young man came out, the gang pounced on him and hacked him brutally. The Youth Congress worker made a bid to escape the attack by running away but he collapsed in the courtyard. The murderers fled the scene as neighbours gathered there hearing the cries of Sunil’s family members. It is said that there were 35 hack marks on his body.
Though the severely injured Youth Congress worker was taken first to the Government Hospital at nearby Harippad and then to the Government Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha, his life could not be saved. The incident has pushed Cheppad and adjoining places which have no history of serious violence into panic.
It is said Sunil was a DYFI activist earlier and had later left the outfit to join the Youth Congress and the local CPI(M) men had been a keeping a grudge towards him over this. The Youth Congress has alleged that the CPI(M) was behind the murder and the police have not ruled this out. Four persons, said to be DYFI men, have been taken into custody.
Sunil Kumar’s murder took place exactly a week after the attack, allegedly by CPI(M) activists, on 29-year-old BJP-RSS worker Biju, an autorikshaw driver, in front of four students of Class 1 and 2 whom he was taking to the school in his vehicle at Chokli near Kannur, known for its long history of violence between the CPI(M) and RSS-BJP.
A month ago, on February 15, a gang of suspected CPI(M) activists had stabbed to death a BJP-RSS worker PV Sujith (27) at Aroli, Pappinissery in Kannur district in front of his parents and brother at his house close to midnight. Kannur used to see escalation in violence during elections, according to local people.