BJP calls for shutdown over party worker’s murder in Kerala’s Guruvayur

The deceased was one of the accused in the murder of a DYFI activist.
PTI
PTI
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BJP leaders in Kerala have called for a shutdown on Monday, to protest the killing of a party worker in Guruvayur town of Kerala’s Thrissur district, a day earlier. The hartal will be organised in Guruvayur and Manaloor.

According to initial reports, Anand who was riding a bike was attacked by a group of men who had followed him in a car. The car rammed into Anand's bike at the Nenmini area in Guruvayur, the impact of the crash throwing Anand and his friend off the bike.

Anand was an accused in the murder case of a CPI(M) activist in 2013. Twenty-one-year-old Fasil was hacked to death by a group of men at Kiyare Junction at Bhrahmakulam, near Guruvayur in November 2013.

Though Anand and his friend Vishnu were rushed to the hospital, Anand’s life could not be saved. The group of attackers abandoned the car and fled from the scene.

Guruvayur police Sub Inspector Anidas earlier told TNM, “We found a car and bike at the spot. We are yet to find how many people were behind the attack. Anand is an accused in the Fasil murder case, so we will be looking at that angle. There was a person named Vishnu with Anand. He is hospitalized. We are waiting to take his statement.”

In October, the BJP had carried out rallies across the state to protest against political murders in Kerala.

The murder has triggered fears of a renewed escalation in conflict between activists of the CPI (M) and the BJP in the state. The murder of Rajesh in Thiruvananthapuram in July was the latest in the series of political killings. The violence had died down for four months since the incident.

There is no official data available but an RTI showed that Kannur, which has been the hotbed of political violence in the state, witnessed 31 deaths of workers from RSS and BJP and 30 from the CPI(M), from 2000 to 2016. 

The latest murder has evoked strong protest from Sangh organisations with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah asking Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to explain what his government was doing ‘to curb criminal elements in his party

Local leaders meanwhile alleged that CPI (M) workers were behind the latest killing. “The CPI (M) has become a murder gang in the district. Political murders are committed with the blessings of the leadership. It is the third political murder committed by the CPI (M) in the district after Pinarayi Vijayan took charge as Chief Minister. The CPI (M), which is scared of the BJP’s growth in the district, is trying to destroy the party by unleashing violence,” said Nagesh, the Thrissur district unit head of the BJP speaking to The Hindu.

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