ALAPPUZHA: A plus-two student died after a 10-member gang attacked him at Pattanakkad near Cherthala on Wednesday night. The deceased, Ananthu (Nandu- 17), son of Ashokan, Kalappurackal Nikarthil House, ward 10, Pattanakkad panchayat, was a student of Rama Varma Higher Secondary School, Vayalar.
LDF and UDF have called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Alappuzha district on Friday protesting the murder.
According to Cherthala CI V P Mohanlal, the incident took place around 11 pm on Wednesday during the festival at Raja Rajeswari Temple, Neelimangalam, near Vayalar.
“A gang attacked Ananthu when he was returning from the temple, following which he became unconscious. The local people rushed him to the Cherthala taluk hospital, where he was declared brought dead,” he said. Police took 10 youths into custody in connection with the incident.
Police suspect Ananthu’s love affair with a girl had led to the attack.
He had earlier engaged in an altercation with some of the gang members in school over the matter.
However, CPM leaders said Ananthu was an RSS activist and had been keeping away from the activities of the organisation over the last few months, which led to the attack.
The body was handed over to relatives after postmortem examination at Vandanam Medical College.
Ananthu is survived by mother Vimala and sister Athira. CPM district secretary Saji Cheriyan said Cherthala town has been exempted from the hartal in view of the festival at the Sree Karthiyayini Temple there.