Political Violence In Kerala: BJP Worker Dies After Attack By CPI (M) Workers

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker today (6 January) died of burns in Jubilee Mission Medical College in Thrissur after goons from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)) set fire to his house in Kanjikode, Palakkad, on 28 December.

Fifty-five-year-old Radhakrishnan was admitted to the hospital with 60 per cent burns along with his wife Vimala and brother Kannan, who both sustained more severe burns. Three CPI (M) workers were arrested last week in connection with the attack. Advocate E Krishnadas, the BJP Palakkad district president, has called for a district-wide hartal on 7 January, claiming that the attack was made with an intention to kill.

On 28 December, a group of men set fire to bikes parked near the kitchen of Kannan’s house. The fire spread to the kitchen, causing a gas cylinder to explode, completely gutting the shed and the house in the process. All of the victims were local leaders in the BJP.