The AKG Memorial Library at BP Angadi, near Tirur, was set ablaze in the early hours of Tuesday. Two Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) men have been arrested in connection with the destruction of the library managed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
The police said books, furniture and other property worth Rs.40 lakh were destroyed in the fire which gutted the library around 2 a.m.
The arson was said to have been a sequel to a quarrel between the RSS and CPI(M) men at Thallakkara on Monday evening. Tension prevailed in the region after RSS and CPI(M) men locked horns over writing on a wall.
CPI(M) leaders alleged the RSS had created problem by writing on a wall booked by the CPI(M). The police had pacified both parties and posted a policeman on night vigil at Thallakkara.
CPI(M) leaders alleged that the policeman on duty had vanished after midnight. The attack on the library took place around 2 a.m. when a group of men broke into the premises and destroyed the furniture and books before setting the tile-roof building on fire.
The police started an investigation into the incident. A posse of police is camping at Thallakkara.
