CPM, RSS members clash in Kottaayam

The BJP had called for a dawn-to-dusk state-wide hartal yesterday to protest the killing of RSS worker Rajesh near Thiruvanathapuram on Saturday.

Kottayam (Kerala), Jul 31: In fresh incidents of violence, stones were thrown at the district committee office of the CPI-M's trade union wing CITU and a petrol bomb was hurled at the RSS district office on Monday in Kottayam town.

The BJP district unit alleged that CPI(M) workers hurled a petrol bomb at the RSS district office, causing extensive damage to the building situated at Thirunakkara in the town. They slammed the police for not taking steps to provide adequate security cover for RSS-BJP offices in the town.

Window panes of the CITU office were damaged in the attack believed to be carried out by a gang of five men who reached there on three motorcycles at 2.30 am, police said.

They hurled stones at the office, police said. Condemning the incident, the CPI(M) Kottayam district secretary V N Vasavan alleged that BJP-RSS activists were behind the attack.

He alleged that BJP-RSS workers destroyed publicity boards and hoardings of CPI(M) and its allied organisations during their dawn-to-dusk hartal in the town yesterday. Eight RSS-BJP workers have been taken into custody in this connection, police said.

The BJP had called for a dawn-to-dusk state-wide hartal yesterday to protest the killing of RSS worker Rajesh near Thiruvanathapuram on Saturday. Kottayam district police chief N Ramachandran visited the offices targeted by the miscreants. Adequate police security has been provided to offices of CPI(M), CITU, RSS and the BJP following the incident, police said.

The state had been witnessing a series of violent incidents allegedly involving BJP-RSS and CPI-M workers with the state capital Thiruvanathapuram rocked by incidents of attacks on houses of rival partymen in the past few days.

PTI