KOCHI: Five persons, including a CPM area secretary, have been booked for allegedly attacking a CPI office and manhandling local CPI leaders at Vypeen. The Njarakkal police have registered a case against CPM area secretary A P Prinil and four DYFI workers. CPI mandalam secretary K L Dileep Kumar were among those allegedly roughed up by the CPM workers.
The incident took place on Sunday night in connection with the election held to the Njarakkal Service Cooperative Bank. The Congress-CPI coalition won the election defeating the CPM panel. Following this, the CPM workers barged into the CPI offices and destroyed the furniture, board and other items in the office.
Meanwhile, Prinil said the CPM was not involved in the attack and that CPI leader Dileep mocked and gestured at women during the victory rally. The CPM workers only questioned this, said a statement issued by the party.
The rift between the CPM and the CPI intensified in the area when a faction of the CPM -- under the leadership of Dileep -- joined the CPI. Dileep was a CPM local secretary and area committee member. The rift escalated when the CPM district leadership decided to remove Dileep from the post of president at the Karthedam Service Cooperative Bank.