Kerala BJP Panchayat President's house set on fire, three bikes gutted

BJP leaders alleged that the CPI(M) was involved in the incident.

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A Kerala BJP Panchayat President's house was set on fire early on Friday morning in Vadakkekara, Ernakulam district.The house was partially burnt, and three bikes were gutted.

Vadakkekara BJP Panchayat President T J Jijesh’s house was reportedly attacked at 3 AM on Friday by unidentified persons. Local BJP leaders reported the matter to Vadakkekara police.

While police officials maintain that it is not clear if the CPI(M) was involved in the incident or not, BJP leaders allege that the CPI(M) is responsible.

“They first burnt the three bikes kept in the garage. The flames later spread, and in no time, the house was on fire. Luckily, the fire was put out before it reached the gas cylinder in the kitchen”, said Manoj, a local BJP leader.

Criticising the police, Manoj said, “There is complete negligence on the side of the officials in speeding up the investigation. The police hasn’t taken any commendable initiative in finding the culprits. They are acting more like the extension of CPI (M) party than police officers”, Manoj alleged.

“As a party, the BJP has been doing well in the Panchayat elections in Vadakkekara. Out of seven seats, we bagged two. This had stirred up some political tension between NJP workers and CPI(M) cadres,” Manoj said.

Meanwhile, police officials said that the first round of immediate actions have been completed by the police, and a case has been registered under Section 436 of the IPC (Mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc).

Vadakkekara Superintendent of Police Shojo Varghese said that, “There is no casualty in the incident, and we have registered a case under IPC 436. The new developments are not convincing enough to confirm if CPI(M) cadres are behind the incident. There will not be any negligence from the side of the police officials.”