A Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] worker was killed in a bomb explosion at Vadakke Poyiloor, near Panur, here in the early hours of Thursday.
The deceased has been identified as P. Vinodan (37). The CPI(M) alleged that he was killed in an attack carried out by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers at Vadakke Poyiloor under the Kolavallur police station limits around 1 a.m. He was among those who had deserted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with former BJP district president O.K. Vasu and former secretary A. Ashokan and joined the CPI(M) last year.
The CPI(M) alleged that Vinodan had been targeted for leaving the BJP and joining the CPI(M) fold. The police said that Vadakke Poyiloor, a stronghold of the BJP-RSS, had been witnessing tension over the past few days in connection with the festival in a local temple.
A group of CPI(M) workers had heated exchanges with BJP-RSS workers over bursting of firecrackers on the occasion of Vishu in front of the house of a BJP worker around midnight, the police said. The inmates of the house had contacted the police to inform of the presence of CPI(M) workers, the police said.
According to the CPI(M), the BJP-RSS workers hurled a country-made bomb at the CPI(M) workers. The police said that Vinodan suffered fatal injuries in his chest in the explosion.
The BJP district leadership denied that the bomb was hurled by its workers. They demanded a detailed probe into the incident.
The CPI(M) observed a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Thalassery taluk in protest against the murder. The police have deployed more personnel in the area. The case is being investigated by Panur Circle Inspector M.V. Benny.
