Tension at Kannur in Kerala as miscreants ransack CPM offices

Tension prevailed at Kannur in Kerala as CPM offices and many shops in Panoor near Koothuparamba in Kannur were ransacked on Wednesday night suspected to be by Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers in retaliation for the murder of an IUML worker.

At least eight offices of the CPM, including branch committee and local committee offices, some shops and a library came under the attack soon after the funeral of IUML worker Paral Mansoor. The assailants even torched many places. Anticipating chances of retaliation, heavy police was deployed in the locality.

Though the Kannur district administration and police invited the political party leaders for peace talks on Thursday, Congress and IUML kept off alleging police inaction in the murder case. They said that leaders of the murder accused were invited to the peace talks and there was no meaning in turning up for such an event.

CPM top leaders visited the spot on Thursday morning and condemned the attack and the fact that leaders did not engage in peace talks.

IUML worker Paral Mansoor, 21, was murdered in election-related violence on Tuesday night and his brother was injured.

Kannur city police commissioner R Ilango said that a probe into the murder case was handed over to the district crime branch and the accused were identified. All of them were absconding and efforts were being made to nab them.

So far only one DYFI worker, who was nabbed by local people from the murder spot, was arrested by the police, while ten more were suspected to be directly involved in the murder. IUML alleged that it was a planned murder as some local DYFI leaders had made some social media posts in this regard ahead of the incident.