A 20-year-old worker of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was stabbed to death in Mukkattukara of Kerala’s Thrissur district on Sunday. The worker has been identified as Nirmal. The BJP has alleged that the attack was carried out by workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI (M)).
A dawn-to-dusk hartal has been called by the BJP state unit to protest against political violence perpetrated by CPI-M activists in the state.
This comes just weeks after a worker of the party was hacked to death in Kannur district of the state. At least three other BJP workers have been murdered in Kannur, the constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in the last 20 days. On 6 January, a 50-year-old BJP worker died of burns in Thrissur district after goons from CPI (M) set fire to his house in Palakkad.
According to the Times of India, over 20 killings have been reported in last eight months. CPI-M activists were behind most of these attacks and over six workers of the party were arrested last month in connection with these killings.