Kerala: CPI(M), BJP workers hacked to death as politically motivated attacks intensify

In another instance of politically motivated violence, a 38-year-old CPI(M) worker was allegedly hacked to death by an unidentified gang at Payyanur, in Kerala's Kannur district, on 11 July.

CPI(M) leader Dhanaraj was hacked to death by unidentified assailants, who attacked him outside his residence while riding on three bikes, at around 10:30 pm on Monday. He succumbed on his way to the Pariyaram Medical College Hospital. The police have registered a case, and are investigating the attack.

In an attack that is being billed as being a retaliation to Dhanaraj's death, a BJP worker was stabbed to death about an hour after the attack on Dhanaraj, by a group of six. CK Ramachandran, an auto-rickshaw driver is reportedly a BJP supporter, and was murdered in the same area.

Politically motivated killings have been a regular affair since the run-up to the state elections in May. The recent spat is being attributed to the same. CPI(M) has called for a strike in Kannur in the wake of the attack.