The State government has given police protection to Shoranur municipal Chairman and former CPI(M) leader M.R. Murali.
Mr. Murali, a close ally of V.S. Achuthanandan, was removed from the party in 2008 on the charge of working against the interests of the organisation. He was among those who formed the Janakeeya Vikasana Samithi (JVS) then.
The JVS defeated the CPI(M) in the Shoranur municipal election. He had since then been facing threats from various quarters and the police had given protection to his house earlier. There had been attempts to assault him earlier.
Mr. Murali told The Hindu over phone from Shoranur that he had received threatening phone calls recently. He had not sought police protection but the State government took the decision in the wake of the murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party leader T.P. Chandrasekharan.
