CPIM Worker Hacked to Death, Party Says RSS Behind Attack

A 54-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] worker was hacked to death at Thalassery here on Monday. According to the police, Haridas, a fisherman from Punnol, was murdered in front of his house near New Mahe around 2 a.m. while he was returning from work. He had ventured into sea for fishing on Sunday afternoon.

The police said Haridas was attacked by a group who came on two motorbikes and were waiting for him. Though local people rushed Haridas to the Thalassery Co-operative Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries on the way. There were deep wounds on his body‌ and one leg was severed. The body was shifted to Government Medical College Hospital, Kannur, for postmortem examination.

The police have taken into custody seven people, including Lijesh, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Thalassery constituency president and councillor . The police have not revealed the names of the other detained persons. Local people said supporters of the CPI(M) and the BJP had clashed in Punnol a week ago during a temple festival.