Kerala: RSS/BJP Links Suspected in CPI(M) Leader's Murder in Palakkad

A special team has been formed to arrest the accused persons in the murder case of a Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader in the Palakkad district of Kerala.

The CPI(M) Kerala state Secretariat has accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of carrying out political murders.

CPI(M) Kerala unit has claimed that 17 party workers have been murdered in the last six years by RSS gangs.

Already three persons have been arrested in connection with the murder who have links with the RSS and BJP.

Despite the brutal murder, Congress and BJP are on the same page on accusing CPI(M). While the BJP has refused any links with the murder, the state Congress chief has defended the right-wing by questioning if BJP/RSS can be accused of every happening in the state.

'RSS/BJP BEHIND MURDER'

The CPI(M) local committee member in Marutharode of Palakkad district, Shahjahan, was hacked to death late on August 14. The leader, along with other members, was in a local shop while a gang hacked him. He was pronounced 'brought dead' by hospital authorities. The CPI(M) observed a dawn to dusk hartal in the Marutha panchayats.

The CPI(M) has claimed that its worker has been killed for challenging the ganja mafia with RSS links.

"Shajahan and the local leadership have been challenging the activities of the ganja gang and their criminal activities. All the main accused have links with RSS/BJP and are accused in other criminal cases," said a statement from CPI(M) Kerala secretariat.

The accused have been continuously creating tension in the locality. Recently, the RSS men tried to replace a hoarding congratulating the toppers in the school exam results with a Sri Krishna Jayanti hoarding.

On the contrary, few relatives of the deceased leader have claimed that he had been receiving murder threats for a while. One of the arrested persons has close links with BJP as well. An inner party rivalry being a reason for the murder was also circulated, but the CPI(M) leadership rejected such allegations.

CONGRESS & BJP ON THE SAME PAGE

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the murder and assured immediate and strong action against the culprits.

While the CPI(M) registered strong condemnation of the brutal murder, the BJP and Congress chose to be on the same page. Both the parties have accused the CPI(M) of the murder.

K Sudhakaran, MP, the president of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), has claimed that CPI(M) executed the murder by itself. The leader also insisted that BJP cannot be accused of every happening in the state. He went on to say that the CPI(M) has created a martyr.

VD Satheesan, the leader of the opposition in the Kerala Assembly, said that CPI(M) is scoring self goals.

"The CPI(M) has claimed that Congress was behind the bomb attack on AKG centre, and now they are blaming BJP and RSS for the murder now," he said.

Satheesan has demanded an independent enquiry into the incident to bring out the facts behind the murder.

The BJP, on the other hand, has rejected any links with the murder, but the local residents have reportedly identified accused with strong BJP links.