Six CPI (M) workers were arrested on Saturday for a BJP worker’s murder in Kerala’s Kannur district. Police said the CPI (M) workers were directly involved in the killing of Ezhuthan Santhosh, 52. The murder is suspected to be a fallout of tension in Dharmadam area over an SFI-ABVP standoff at Brennen College.
On Tuesday, a group of suspected BJP-RSS workers entered the college campus when students returned after a tour. The gang hacked two students and tour guide Arin, 26, a CPI (M) worker.
“The murder was apparently in retaliation to the attack on Arin, leader of CPI (M) youth wing DYFI. The slain BJP worker, Santhosh, was not involved in the attack on Arin at the college,’’ said a police source. “The CPI (M) men had initially targeted another BJP worker, but missed him at the last moment. Hence, they killed Santhosh without any provocation.’’
Santhosh, a daily wager who had contested civic polls, was alone when the assailants stormed his house. He sustained multiple stab wounds. CPI (M) Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan had claimed that his party workers were not involved in the killing and blamed a property dispute for the murder.