KASARGOD: A CPM worker, Aboobaker Siddique (22), was stabbed to death, allegedly by a gang of BJP-RSS workers, apparently over public drinking in Uppala in Kasaragod. One person, identified as Ashwanth (26) from the same locality, has been taken into custody, said sources in the police.
DYFI worker Siddique, a native of Sonkal in Uppala, was returning home when he saw a group publicly drinking liquor near his house around 11 pm on Sunday, said Kumbla inspector Premsadan. When he confronted them, a scuffle broke out and one of the gang members stabbed Aboobaker, said the officer. Though he was rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru, his life could not be saved. Police have taken Ashwanth (26), also from Uppala, into custody. He is believed to be a worker of the BJP-RSS, said police. Officers have impounded one motorcycle found on the scene of crime.
Ten days ago, Siddique returned from Qatar, where he was helping his brother run a restaurant. Kasaragod district police chief A Srinivas said Siddique, an active worker of the CPM, had earlier allegedly questioned the smuggling in of liquor by the gang. However, considering the political affiliation of the deceased and the suspects, the political angle to the murder was also being probed, he said.
"We have got some clue about the killers and we are hopeful of nabbing them very soon," he said. Police said a 15-member special team led by Kasaragod DySP M V Sukumaran had begun investigation into the case.
Meanwhile, the CPM alleged that the BJP-RSS workers are behind the murder of the CPM activist and the party called for hartal in Manjeshwaram taluk on Monday afternoon. The person who allegedly stabbed Siddique is the relative of a district level BJP leader, said the party.
BJP state president P S Sreedharan Pillai condemned the killing, and said violence was not a solution to any problem. "As far I understand, it was a killing over liquor sale. The law should take its course and the guilty should be punished,-" he said. However, he alleged that the CPM, which was the ruling party, would try to make political gains from the murder because the victim was a "Muslim brother".