Vinod Kumar, 35, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker, was stabbed to death in a clash between BJP and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] workers at Payyannur on Sunday.
Narayanan, 48, and Lakshmanan, 50, both BJP workers, were admitted respectively to the Pariyaram Medical College Hospital and a hospital in Mangalore with injuries.
Initially, there was mild tension at Karivellur in the morning, the police said. CPI(M) workers reportedly threw stones at a vehicle taking BJP workers to a rally to mark the anniversary of the murder of Bharatiya Jana Yuva Morcha leader K.T. Jayakrishnan, in the afternoon.
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BJP workers, in retaliation, reportedly destroyed CPI(M) publicity materials and staged a sit-in on the road at Perumba, Payyannur.
Vinod Kumar, who was among the protesters, was stabbed at 4 p.m., the police said.
CPI(M) workers also overturned another van carrying BJP workers to the rally, at Perumba, the police said. Road traffic along the National Highway was disrupted following the incidents.
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Though the situation was stated to be under control, the town and surrounding areas remained tense. There was heavy police deployment to avert any escalation of the situation after the BJP took out a rally in the evening.
The report of the death triggered fears of more violence as a large number of BJP workers gathered to attend the rally.
Police sources said all steps were being taken to ensure that there was no reprisal. Vinod Kumar’s body was taken to the Pariyaram Medical College Hospital.
The BJP will observe a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the district on Monday, party district unit president K. Ranjith said. Vehicles would be exempted from the hartal, he said.
Exams postponed
Kannur University pos tponed all its examinations for Monday in view of the hartal call. University offici als said here that the new date would be announced later.