A CPI(M) local secretary in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district was stabbed to death on Thursday, December 2. Sandeep Kumar, a CPI(M) local secretary from Peringara village in Pathanamthitta district, was stabbed by a group of six men after he tried to settle a dispute between them and a shop owner, police have said. Reacting to the incident, the CPI(M) State secretariat issued a statement blaming the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for Sandeep Kumar’s murder, and demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.
According to the police, Sandeep Kumar was stabbed between 7.45 pm and 8 pm on December 2, near a hospital at Peringara in Thiruvalla while he was alone. He was stabbed by a group of six men. A police official from the Pulikeezhu police station told The News Minute that so far, one accused has been identified as Vishnu, who, according to the police, was sacked from the BJP. The remaining five accused are yet to be identified, and all the six accused are absconding, police said.
Police said there were 11 stab wounds on Sandeep Kumar’s body, who died before reaching a hospital. Sandeep Kumar would have turned 34 on Saturday, December 4.
However, despite the CPI(M)’s allegations, police denied that there was political tension between the accused and Sandeep Kumar. "There was no political tension in the region and the motive of the crime is not known," the police personnel of Pulikeezhu police station told TNM. According to PTI, police said that Sandeep Kumar had tried to settle a dispute between the accused — who were allegedly drunk — and a shop owner. After this, his bike was chased and he was stabbed multiple times, according to the police.
Political violence is a recurring problem in Kerala, particularly between the CPI (M) and the RSS and BJP. Recently, an office-bearer of the Popular Front of India (PFI) was arrested in connection with the killing of an RSS worker in Palakkad district. Police said that the arrested activist of the Islamist outfit PFI was directly involved in the killing of A Sanjith, who was hacked to death earlier on November 15.
With PTI inputs