Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday condemned the murder of two Youth Congress activists in Kerala. The activists - Krupesh, 19, and Joshy, 24 - were attacked by three assailants who came on motorcycles.

"The brutal murder of two members of our Youth Congress family in Kasargod, Kerala, is shocking. The Congress prty stands in solidarity with the families of these two young men and I send them my deepest condolences. We will not rest till the murderers are brought to justice," he tweeted.

Reports state that the two Youth Congress members were returning after attending an event when a gang of three men followed them on motorcycles and later attacked them near Periya. Kripesh is reported to have died on the spot while Sarath Lal died on the way to a hospital in Mangaluru.

The Kasargod unit of the Congress has called for a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in the district on Monday to protest the murder. According to reports, at a few places, the demonstrators pelted stones at state-owned buses and forcefully closed down shops. However, private vehicles were found plying smoothly.

While the state Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran alleged that CPI-M workers were involved in the murder, the Left party, has denied any involvement.

Calling CPM a bloodthirsty party, Congress leader and Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala said, “The bloodthirsty CPM is behaving like a terror organisation. The party, which killed 19-year-old Kripesh and 21-year-old Sharath Lal from Kasargod, are not stopping their bloodbath. They don’t know how to behave in a democratic manner.”

He also recalled the 2018 incident that claimed the life of a Youth Congress in Kannur. “It is almost being two years since Shuhaib was hacked to death (on February 12) and before that, they finished two other Youth Congress workers.”

After the 2018 killing, although the Congress party accused the CPM of the crime, the latter denied any involvement. However, following a CPM meeting, the party had expelled four of its members.

With IANS inputs