Another budding life has been sacrificed at the altar of campus politics in the state. Vishalkumar,19, an activist of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), who was hacked in a clash between the ABVP and the Campus Front of India (CFI), a student organization of the Popular Front of India, at Chengannur on Monday died at the Medical College Hospital, Kottayam, early on Tuesday. A protest hartal called by the BJP, RSS and other feeder organizations in the district turned violent hitting normal life.
Vishal of Sreesailam house, Kotta, Chengannur, was attacked allegedly by the CFI activists in connection with the reception accorded to newcomers in the Chengannur Christian College. He was stabbed in the stomach. Vishal was a third-year degree student of NSS College, Konni. Sreejith, a degree student in the Christian College, and Vishnu Prasad, an ABVP activist, were also injured in the attack. They were admitted to a private hospital in Chengannur.
Vishal’s body was handed over to his relatives after postmortem. The ABVP, BJP and RSS activists and his relatives took out a procession with the body from the hospital to Chengannur. The funeral will be held on his house premises on Wednesday. Vishalkumar is survived by father Venugopal, mother Sathi and brother Vipin.
The hartal supporters attacked shops, vehicles and passengers. At Ambalappuzha, the protesters blocked the road and attacked Vasudevan, an Assistant Sub-Inspector of Police in the special branch. In Kayamkulam and Mavelikkara, several shops were ransacked and goods destroyed. In various places, the BJP and RSS activists took out protest marches.
Ayoob of Pullutharayil Nettoor, an autorickshaw driver in Pandalam,was hacked while he was going to sell fish in his vehicle. IG Padmakumar’s vehicle was blocked in Muthoor in Tiruvalla. The Kerala University postponed all examinations scheduled on Tuesday.