The CPI(M)-RSS political violence resurfaced after a lull, this time in Mahe, with two political workers being killed in two separate attacks on Monday.
Babu Kannippoyil, 45, a Communist Party of India-Marxist leader was hacked to death by unidentified assailants on Monday night in Pallur. RSS worker Shamej, 42, was soon attacked in retaliation and has succumbed to his injuries.
A dawn-to-dusk hartal has been called by CPI(M) in Kannur and Mahe on Tuesday following the incident. Vehicles have been exempted from the hartal. Kannur University has postponed all the exams scheduled for the day and the new dates will be announced later.
The deceased, Babu Kannippoyil was a former Mahe counsellor and a party local committee member. The incident occurred at around 9 pm when the deceased was returning home. Bombs were hurled at Babu's house six months ago. The CPM accused that activists of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were behind the attack.
Shamej, an auto driver, succumbed to injuries at Kozhikode medical college hospital after sustaining several injuries to his face and hands. He is survived by his wife Deepa and son Abhinav.
The police, while launching a manhunt for the killers, have enforced combing operations in the area to see that the situation does not go out of control.
In a press statement issued by its Kannur unit, the CPI(M) said that the "brutal murder of K. Babu, a former councillor and an active member of the party, by the RSS activists shows that they (RSS) are in no mood to end the politics of violence, that they have been carrying out."
"There was a RSS camp that was going on Kuthuparampu and this incident occurred after it got over. Babu last year also came under attack. To protest this murder, the CPI-M has called for a shutdown in Kannur and Mahe," it said.
Mahe, is situated between Thalassery in the politically volatile Kannur district and Vatakara in Kozhikode district. It is an enclave of UT Puducherry.
This article was originally published in Onmanorama