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Two more killed in Kannur violence

THALASSERY: Violence in and around Thalassery continued for the third day on Friday with two more persons belonging to the rival Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (BJP-RSS) being hacked to death.

With the latest killings, the number of people murdered in retaliatory violence in the area during the last three days rose to six. The incidents of political murders and bomb attacks since Wednesday were seen as a throwback to the days following the killing of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader K.T. Jayakrishnan on December 1, 1999 when the politically volatile areas of Panur, Thalassery and Koothuparamba were gripped by chronic violence leaving at least seven persons dead and several injured. The trouble-torn areas woke up on Friday to hear reports of the murder of CPI(M) activist K. Aneesh (35), a construction worker, at Puthur near Panur in the early hours. According to the police, Aneesh came under attack near his house around 5 a.m. Though he escaped from the spot immediately after the assailants exploded country-made bombs at his house, he was chased and done to death. His body was found in an alley near his house at 5.30 a.m. He suffered multiple stab injuries in his head and neck in the attack by suspected RSS-BJP workers.

In a retaliatory attack, BJP-RSS worker K.M. Suresh Babu (38) was stabbed to death by alleged CPI(M) workers at Eengayilpeedika, under the Chokli police station limits, near Kodiyeri, the native place of Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. The police said he was in the house of his aunt when the assailants armed with weapons and country bombs stormed the place around 11 a.m. and stabbed him to death. He died on the spot.

The police said many places in the area witnessed an explosive situation after the killings as workers of the CPI(M) and the BJP-RSS assembled for confrontation with weapons including bombs. At Kurichikkara near Panur, the police opened three rounds of fire in the air and exploded three smoke grenades to disperse violent mobs of workers around 11 a.m. Bombs were reportedly hurled at the police who reached there to disperse the mobs.

At Vadakkumbad near here, bombs were hurled at the houses of two BJP-RSS workers. The houses suffered damage in the bomb attack. The house of another BJP worker’s house at Andalur under the Dharmadam police station limits came under bomb attack in the early hours.

At Bavachimukku near Thalassery, workers of the rival parties exploded country bombs at each other. The police said that houses of rival party workers were targeted for bomb attacks in the Thiruvangad and Kallayitheru areas early Friday morning.

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