ALAPPUZHA: Kerala on Sunday woke up to the brutal murders of the state leaders of the Muslim outfit SDPI and the BJP -- the killings happening one after the other within 12 hours in the Alappuzha district in what looks like a retaliatory attack.
In a daring attack, a group of men barged into BJP's OBC Morcha state secretary Renjith Sreenivasan (40) and hacked him to death early on Sunday within hours after K S Shan (38), state secretary of SDPI was hacked to death late on Saturday. SDPI is the political outfit of the militant and extremist Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).
With the situation remaining volatile, a prohibitory order has been issued in the Alappuzha district for two days -- Sunday and Monday. Police have arrested 11 SDPI workers for the murder of the BJP leader while 6 RSS men were arrested for the killing of the SDPI leader. Kerala police chief Anil Kant said the entire state has been put on a vigil to ensure that the situation remains under control. A special team led by ADGP Vijay Sakhare, IPS, to investigate the double murders.
It all began when Shan, who was going riding to his house at Ponnad near Mannancherry in Alappuzha was mowed down by a car at 8 pm. As he fell from his motorbike, he was hacked by the group who got down from the car. The SDPI leader was rushed to Alappuzha Medical College and later shifted to Ernakulam Medical Trust Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries at 11.30 pm, police said.
In what seems like a retaliatory attack, a group of people barged into Renjith's house at Vellakinar in Alappuzha municipality. The assailants attacked him inside his house. Though the police arrived and took him to Alappuzha General Hospital, the doctors declared him brought dead.
Renjith, a lawyer by profession, was the BJP candidate in the Alappuzha assembly constituency in the 2016 election. He has also worked in various posts in the Bharatheeya Vicharakendram and many other posts in the BJP and allied organizations.
One year ago, an RSS worker was hacked to death at Vayalar near Cherthala. A few SDPI activists were arrested in connection with the murder and are in jail.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condemned the murders. “Police have intensified search for assailants and stringent action should be taken against the people behind the murders," the CM said.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan said Kerala is paying the price of the Chief Minister's policy of 'nurturing the communal outfits of SDPI and RSS'. K Surendran, BJP state president, tweeted that "Kerala police have miserably failed to book the "perpetrators and conspirators pf the BJP-RSS 'karyakarthas' Sanjith (Palakkad) and Biju (Thrissur). PFI terrorists murdered both. Complete breakdown in law and order."