ALAPPUZHA: Think of murders in the state and Kannur would spring to mind almost instantaneously.
But the first quarter of the new year has seen Alappuzha upstaging the northern district to the dubious title of the ‘killing field of Kerala’. The murder of 17-year old Ananthu Ashokan is the seventh in the district since the turn of 2017.
While the murders have not been as political as those in Kannur, the common strand lies in the allegation the police remain mute spectators when ‘quotation’ gangs and anti-social elements are on the prowl. Minor issues have often led to murders, leaving many youngsters in jail.
Apart from nipping young lives in the bud, the violence has left many families - of the hunter and the hunted alike - in dire straits. In all murders, youth have fallen prey to the rivalry between the gangs. While political parties have been trying to cash in on the situation, declaring hartals after each murder, strong action against the goondas has hardly been forthcoming.
CPM district secretary Saji Cheriyan said the LDF activists were hounded by the RSS and Congress goondas. “Ananthu was killed by RSS activists. They also attacked cadre at Karuvatta and Muthukulam. The planned murders were aimed at destabilising the LDF Government,” he said.
“The district witnessed five political murders in two months,” said DCC president M Liju. The Congress was not involved in any of those murders. The government’s failure has led to the recurring of murders. Ananthu, son of a Congress activist, was murdered by RSS, he said.
Denying the role of the party in political murders, BJP district president K Soman said, “the Sangh Parivar was in no way involved. The CPM was trying to pin the blame on us to cover up the administrative failures of the government.” Meanwhile, a police officer, who did not wish to be named, said, “the Police Department has taken stern action against ‘quotation’ gangs. Over 1,000 anti-socials and goondas were arrested from the district in two months.”
“The turf war is a regular affair in the district with the blessings of political leaders,” said Subhash, a Haripad native. “The political leaders use quotation gangs to smuggle sand, fill up paddy fields, resolve family disputes and keep political opponents in check. The gangs were also protecting the drugs and illicit liquor mafia. A section of the police is also party to this unholy nexus,” he said.