Following the murders two political leaders in less than a day, prohibitory order of Section 144 under CrPC has been imposed in Alappuzha district of Kerala for two days, district collector A Alexander said on Sunday. Two state-level leaders of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Bharatyia Janata Party (BJP) were killed amid growing tensions between the two parties in the region.
Clashes ensued in the district after the back to back murders. High vigil is being maintained in the area and senior police officers have been rushed to avert further tensions. It is believed that the second attack was in retaliation to the murder of the SDPI leader state secretary Shan KS.
Twin murders in a day
The 38-year-old state secretary of SDPI, a political wing of the Popular Front of India (PFI), was hacked to death by a group of assailants on Saturday morning when he was returning home in Mannacherry on his scooter. According to police reports, Shan KS fell off of his scooter with the first hit and was stabbed multiple times. He succumbed to the injuries on the way to the hospital.
The SDPI alleged that Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was behind the attack but RSS district leaders denied any role in it.
Subsequently, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) OBC Morcha leader Ranjith Sreenivasan, was brutally murdered allegedly by workers of the SDPI in Palakkad district of Kerala within 12 hours of the first incident. Sreenivasan was on his morning stroll when an eight-member group of assailants waylaid and stabbed him. He died a short while later.
Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has reacted to the incident and blamed the police for recurring political murders. “It seems both are planned killings. Police should give a free hand to investigate such murders,” he said. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also condemned the two murders in Alappuzha.
At least 11 people have been arrested so far in connection with the BJP leader’s death.
