The Kerala police has named three Bharatiya Janata Party workers for allegedly attacking two Democratic Youth Federation of India activists in Palakkad district on Thursday night, ANI reported. Those injured – Ratheesh (30), Yousuf (31) and Sudheesh (28) – have been admitted to a hospital. The police said that the attack came after a minor scuffle at a temple festival in Parukkancheri.
One of the complainants alleged that the three BJP activists had entered his home and attacked him with a sharp weapon, the police told NDTV. The DYFI is seen to be affiliated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), though officially it is an independent organisation.
The attacks on the DYFI men came after four BJP workers were injured when a crude bomb was hurled at their party office in Kozhikode district on Thursday night. Hours after this attack, a CPI(M) office in the same area was set on fire. The attackers in both incidents have not been identified yet. Police have not linked the incidents yet.
The long-standing tension between the CPI(M) and BJP seemed to escalate on Thursday after RSS’ Madhya Pradesh spokesperson Kundan Chandrawat had placed a bounty of Rs 1 crore on Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He blamed the Left leader for deaths of RSS and BJP workers in the state.
“I have enough wealth to have the guts to make such an announcement. I have properties worth over Rs 1 crore. Whoever gets me Vijayan’s head, I will give away all my property to that person,” he had said.
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