Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary P. Jayarajan has alleged that some extremist groups are operating within the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) at Taliparamba and nearby areas.
Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Jayarajan said that Intelligence agencies had reported the activities of the extremist groups within the IUML units in and around Taliparamba. He said that the ‘extremists’ operating in the IUML at Ariyil, which had witnessed clashes over the past few days, were not under the control of the IUML leadership here. Referring to the murder of IUML worker A. Shukkoor, from Ariyil on Monday allegedly by Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers apparently in retaliation to the assault on CPI(M) leaders including himself at Ariyil on Monday morning, Mr. Jayarajan said that the death of the youth was unfortunate.
He said that attack on the party leaders during their visit at Ariyil on Monday was part of a conspiracy to intercept the vehicle of the party and eliminate party workers including him. The extremist wing in the IUML at Ariyil area was opposed to the CPI(M) workers visiting there, he said adding that the IUML workers in the Ariyil area had been unilaterally instigating violence. Stating that the CPI(M) would face the extremist forces in any areas, he said that the party that had successfully resisted against the extremism of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh would also oppose the ‘League extremism’.
Mr. Jayarajan said that there was a group within the IUML that was for peace. The extremist group, however, was not under the control of peace-lovers in the IUML. He also said that the inaction on the part of the police had also escalated the situation in the district. The CPI(M) leader also said that the alleged attack on IUML leader K.M. Shaji on February 21 was a fabricated story to save its own face.
Taliparamba limping back to normality
Ariyil and nearby areas that had been gripped by tension since the assault on the CPI(M) leaders on and subsequent murder of the IUML worker at Kannapuram on February 20 were slowly sliding back to normality as no untoward incidents of violence were reported from these areas on Wednesday. The areas had witnessed incidents of violence and arson on Tuesday. The house of IUML local leader P.P. Zubair was ransacked and household items including gas cylinders were dumped into the open well in the house. A printing press owned by M.M. Baby at Taliparamba was set ablaze at around 10 p.m. on Tuesday. A tailor shop run by M. Lakshmanan was also torched late last night. The house of another CPI(M) sympathiser at Taliparamba was also ransacked.
The police deployed large number of personnel in the tension-hit areas and strengthened patrolling in view of the volatile situation prevailing there. The police also established pickets in those areas.
