THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the Santhosh murder keeping the Kannur horizon tense, BJP state chief Kummanam Rajasekharan met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday and demanded SIT probe into the killing. Santhosh, a BJP worker, was killed at Dharmadom on Wednesday. Other leaders such as RSS prantha kariavah P Gopalan Kutty master, O Rajagopal and V V Rajesh too accompanied Kummanam. Chief minister assured the BJP delegation to take stringent action against the culprits.
“We have expressed our apprehension and protest over the murder of BJP/RSS workers. The law and order situation in the state has crumbled. Police remain a mute witness in Kannur where BJP/RSS workers are being attacked and killed in broad daylight,” Kummanam said. The BJP delegation also urged the chief minister to visit Kannur and assess the situation. “Santhosh was killed at Dharmadom, the chief minister’s own constituency. The situation has remained tense from Wednesday. Despite us alerting them, police did little to avert the attack. They also refused to take him to the hospital,” said Kummanam. The BJP state leadership has drawn the attention of the Union Home Ministry to the issues in Kerala in the wake of murders in Kannur and Palakkad. The leaders have also requested MHA to deploy Central forces in Kannur. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the CPM state secretary, refuted the charges. “The party has nothing to do with the recent murder. If any of the CPM workers are involved in the incident, party will not protect them,” said Kodiyeri.
He said regional issues rather than political ones were behind the murder. “Contrary to what the BJP has been claiming, the deceased was not an active BJP worker. Let the police investigate and bring the culprits before the law,” said Kodiyeri.