The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the CPI(M) in Alathur taluk on Monday in protest against the murder of a 43-year-old party worker allegedly by RSS-BJP activists was total. No untoward incident was reported from the area. Shops and other establishments remained closed. Local buses did not ply.
It was late on Sunday when CPI(M) worker R. Vijayan was hacked to death at Vadakkumcherry in Alathur when he was on his way to attend a funeral. The deceased was a resident of Karapatta village in the locality. The incident took place around 11.30 p.m.
A group alleged BJP-RSS activists attacked Vijayan with lethal weapons when he was on his way to visit the house of a deceased neighbour. There was simmering tension in the region between the activists of CPI(M) and BJP-RSS for quite some time now.
Though Vijayan was rushed to a private hospital in Thrissur, he breathed his last around midnight. Vijayan was a member of the CPI(M) Karapatta branch committee and a member of the local CITU union comprising auto and taxi drivers. He is survived by wife, Vimala, and daughters, Ashwathi and Athira.
Meanwhile, the police said they had identified four of the assailants and they would be arrested soon. One among them sought treatment at a private hospital in Thrissur and he is under surveillance. The mortal remains of Vijayan were laid to rest in the evening on Monday in the presence of party workers.
