Amit Shah blames CPI(M), BJP calls hartal in two Assembly constituencies today

A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) activist, Anandan, was hacked to death near Guruvayur in Thrissur district of Kerala on Sunday.

The 26-year-old, an accused in a case relating to the murder of a Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) worker in 2013, was attacked by a gang of four persons, allegedly belonging to the CPI(M), near the Balarama Temple at Nenmini near Guruvayur around 1 p.m.

The assailants came in a car and hacked Anandan, who was riding a motorcycle along with his friend Vishnu. The attackers’ car first rammed his motorcycle. When Anandan fell from the vehicle, they chased and hacked him, witnesses said.

As people started gathering, the gang fled, leaving their car behind. They fled on motorcycles snatched from people nearby. Though Anandan was rushed to a hospital at Chavakkad, he could not be saved. His friend, Vishnu, who was also injured in the attack, is undergoing treatment.

Tension prevailed in Guruvayur and nearby areas after the murder. Senior police officers visited the scene of the attack from where a forensic team collected evidence. A strong police force is camping at the place.

‘Pinarayi must explain’

The murder evoked strong protest from Sangh organisations with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah asking Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to explain what his government was doing ‘to curb criminal elements in his rank’.

In a tweet within a few hours of the murder, Mr. Shah said: “I condemn the brutal killing of the young RSS Swayamsevak K Anand in Guruvayur, Kerala. The continuous violence by CPM workers and the protection of such political killings is now before the nation.”

Anandan was the second accused in the murder of DYFI activist Fazil on November 3, 2013. He was arrested and released on bail.

Hundreds of RSS and BJP workers thronged the hospital where Anandan was taken and later to the Government Medical College, Thrissur, where the body was shifted for post-mortem examination.

The district BJP leadership has called for a hartal in the Guruvayur and Manalur Assembly constituencies on Monday.

BJP district unit president Nagesh said the CPI(M) had turned Thrissur into a district where most political murders were happening after Kannur.

“The CPI(M) has become a murder gang in the district. Political murders are committed with the blessings of the leadership. It is the third political murder committed by the CPI(M) in the district after Pinarayi Vijayan took charge as Chief Minister. The CPI(M), which is scared of the BJP’s growth in the district, is trying to destroy the party by unleashing violence,” Mr. Nagesh said.

The BJP had last month taken out a Janaraksha Yatra to protest against alleged political killings in the State.