The Kerala Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested four Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in connection with the murder of a Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) worker in Kannur on Tuesday, 22 February, as reported by PTI.
The 54-year-old fisherman, Haridasan K, was allegedly hacked to death at Punnol village near Mahe at around 1.30 am on Monday, while he was returning home after work.
Police said that they are investigating the matter but suspect political rivalry as a possible reason for the murder.
The SIT is probing the case headed by Kannur City Additional SP (Superintendent of Police) Prince Abraham.
A local BJP leader and Thalassery municipal councillor K Lijesh is among the four arrested by the police in connection with the case. News channels on Monday released an old clip of the BJP leader warning of a possible retaliation against the CPI(M) workers in the area over a local temple festival at Punnol.
Political Rivalry?
In November last year, Kerala witnessed two gruesome political killings in the span of a fortnight. On 15 November, 27-year old S Sanjith, an RSS head in Palakkad district, was hacked to death by a group of assailants allegedly belonging to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
On 2 December, PB Sandeep Kumar, a 32-year-old CPI(M) leader in Pathanamthitta district in Central Kerala was murdered allegedly by BJP-RSS activists/supporters. The same month, two state-level leaders, one from the SDPI and another from the BJP, were killed in Kerala's Alappuzha.
The two murders occurred within hours of each other.
Although the police have arrested the suspects involved in both cases, the possibility of retaliatory violence remains a matter of concern.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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