Party calls for hartal in Kollam today

President of the Kadakkal panchayat unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) A. Raveendranath, who suffered serious head injuries in an alleged attack by Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on February 2, succumbed to his injuries at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital on Saturday.

He was 58 and is a retired sub inspector of police. The attack was in connection with a dispute between activists of the two parties over issues related to temple festival at Kadakkal. Raveendranath was undergoing treatment at the medical college hospital.

Raveendranath was whacked on his head with iron rods. The police had arrested activists from both sides in connection with the incident and those arrested were still under remand. The funeral rites will be performed at 3 p.m. in the compound of the house of the deceased at Kadakkal. He is survived by his wife Jaya, a son and a daughter.

Hartal in Kollam today

The BJP has called for a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kollam district on Sunday. The hartal will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In a statement, BJP district president G. Gopinath said the murder was yet another incident of the CPI(M)’s politics of violence.