KANNUR: Thousands of CPM workers bid a solemn farewell to Pushpan, a survivor of the 1994 Koothuparamba firing, in Kannur on Sunday.
Bedridden for the past 30 years after suffering a severe bullet injury in the police firing on November 25, 1994, Pushpan passed away on Saturday.
Chants in his honour rented the air at Thalassery Town Hall and Rama Vilasam HSS where his body was kept for public viewing. After public tributes were offered in Thalassery and Chokli, Pushpan was cremated near his home in Menapram.
At 8 am on Sunday, a funeral procession began from the DYFI office at the Youth Centre in Kozhikode. Hundreds waited along the route through Vadakara and Mahe, offering revolutionary salutes. CPM and DYFI workers began arriving in Thalassery by evening to catch a final glimpse of Pushpan, hailed as the living martyr of the Koothuparamba firing.
CPM state secretary M V Govindan, central committee member E P Jayarajan, speaker A N Shamseer, district secretary M V Jayarajan, state committee member P Jayarajan, and thousands of party workers paid their respects when Pushpan’s body arrived at Thalassery Town Hall at 11 am.
Pushpan’s final journey then continued to Koothuparamba, the ground zero of the 1994 firing. In front of the site where five comrades fell, Pushpan’s farewell became an emotional moment.
M V Nikesh Kumar, the son of late CMP leader M V Raghavan, accused of being responsible for the police firing, too came to pay his respects to Pushpan at Chokli.
“Pushpan is immortal. His unwavering loyalty and hope for the movement, maintained with tireless morale, stayed with him until the end. Likewise, Pushpan will remain a shining star in the hearts of all comrades forever,” the CPM said in a statement.