A 54-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] worker was hacked to death at Thalassery here on Monday. According to the police, Haridas, a fisherman from Punnol, was murdered in front of his house near New Mahe around 2 a.m. while he was returning from work. He had ventured into sea for fishing on Sunday afternoon.
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The police said Haridas was attacked by a group who came on two motorbikes and were waiting for him. Though local people rushed Haridas to the Thalassery Co-operative Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on the way. There were deep wounds on his body and one leg was severed. The body was shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kannur, for postmortem examination.
The police have taken into custody seven people, including Lijesh, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Thalassery constituency president and councillor. The police have not revealed the names of the other detained persons. Local people said supporters of the CPI(M) and the BJP had clashed in Punnol a week ago during a temple festival.
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CPI(M) reaction
The CPI(M) called for a hartal from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. in Thalassery municipality and New Mahe panchayat on Monday in protest against the killing. CPI(M) Kannur district secretary M.V. Jayarajan said the murder was committed at the behest of BJP-RSS leadership and demanded stern action.
BJP denial
BJP district president N. Haridas denied the allegation. BJP State president K. Surendran said the murder was a local issue and the BJP or the RSS had nothing to do with it. He deplored the police move to take Lijesh into custody. The police should conduct a thorough investigation, he said.
The forensic team found a sword and an iron rod near the crime spot. Kannur City Police Commissioner R. Ilango said the investigation was being carried out in six groups. A list of suspects had been prepared and a search was on.