A 19-year-old student was beaten to death during a temple festival in Vayalar in Alappuzha district.

According to the police, Anandu Ashokan was attacked by a large group of people in a paddy field, taking advantage of the cover provided by the celebrations in the nearby Vayalar Neelimangalam temple.  

The attack took place at around 11pm on Wednesday night. VP Mohanlal, Cherthala Circle Inspector, told The News Minute that Anandu had suffered internal injuries in his chest and stomach as a result of the beating, and died on the spot.

Police have booked cases against 15 people, including five schoolmates of Anandu. The Circle Inspector said that all the suspects in the case are RSS/BJP workers, but denied that there was any political motive to the crime. He said that the murder was planned following a clash between students at school.

Anandu, a student of Class 12, was involved in a clash last week with some other students of his school. With the intervention of teachers, the matter was thought to be resolved.

Mohanlal said that the attack had been planned, and that a criminal conspiracy was involved in the murder. “The group had keenly kept a watch around Anandu’s house on that day. Later they planned to attack him behind the temple in the field. They did this intentionally with planning,” he said.

Protesting against the murder, the LDF and the UDF have called for a hartal in Alappuzha district.