An RSS worker was today pulled out from his autorickshaw carrying school students in Kannur district and repeatedly stabbed allegedly by CPI(M) activists in front of the petrified children. Huddled inside the autorickshaw, the four frightened children from class one and two who were being driven to school, watched the 29-year-old autorickshaw driver A V Biju being dragged out by a six-member gang, suspected to be CPI(M) workers, and attacked with swords and knives.
The incident occurred when the children were being taken to their school near Pannur in Thalassery, police said. Biju, who sustained multiple stab injuries, was rushed to a local hospital and later taken to the Kozhikode Medical college hospital, police said, adding he had eight deep cuts on his hands and back and that he had lost a lot of blood.
His condition is stable, police later said. A case of attempt to murder has been lodged against the assailants. Known as a political stronghold of the CPM, Kannur has for years witnessed frequent violent clashes between workers of the Left party and that of the RSS, the BJP’s ideological mentor.
Last month, a 27-year-old RSS worker was hacked to death in front of his aged parents in Papinesseri in the district, allegedly by CPI(M) workers. On December 1, 1999, K P Jayakrishnan Master, a BJP leader was hacked to death, allegedly by CPI-M workers, in front of his students while he was taking class.
The CPM-led Left alliance (LDF) is making a bid to wrest power from the Congress-led UDF in the assembly elections to be held in Kerala in May. While the BJP has been a minor political player in the state so far, it has invested heavily in perking up its cadres for the elections and hoping to make a dent in the UDF citadel.