Political violence in Kerala is an open secret. Barring West Bengal, the Communist-ruled state has, perhaps, witnessed the maximum killings per capita due to political reasons than any other state in India. This is no exaggeration; killings in Communist-ruled states are very common – West Bengal is a classic example.
The latest in the long series of political violence in Kerala is the killing of BJP worker Mullapram Chomantavida Santosh.
Reports say that Santosh was alone at his home when he was attacked at around 11 pm on Wednesday night. The unidentified men were allegedly from the CPI-M – the ruling party.
They hacked Santosh. He died before he could be taken to the hospital.
Deplorable, Santosh, a BJP worker hacked to death in Kannur, CM’s constituency. 20 killed in 8 months Kerala under CPM reduced to jungle raj
— Poonam Mahajan (@poonam_mahajan) January 19, 2017
Santosh is survived by his mother, wife and two children. One of the children is daughter Vismaya. She was with her mother and brother, Sarang, at their mother’s place.
Social media started tweeting Vismaya’s smiling photo as a reminder of the painful reality of political killings.
Vismaya, pride of Tellicheri on @asianet progm. This child prodigy is an orphan now after her father Santosh’s murder #JungleRajInKerala pic.twitter.com/8S5tK9ZCw6
Advertisement— J Nandakumar (@kumarnandaj) January 19, 2017
The little girl was a participant in the popular Malayalam game show ‘Sell Me The Answer’.
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Santosh’s daughter Vismaya,he was killed last night in his home.His pride. How does one preserve her impish spirit & childhood after this? pic.twitter.com/STZCztXo4O
— Advaita Kala (@AdvaitaKala) January 19, 2017
And this is Vismaya at her father’s funeral.
Heartbreaking visuals from Santosh’s last rites,he jst didnt “belong” 2 an ideology/political party he belonged 2 this weeping girl as well pic.twitter.com/XYEtSB8UpY
— Advaita Kala (@AdvaitaKala) January 19, 2017
His death marks the first political killing in the Kannur. The same district had witnessed as many as six political killings in 2016. The victims were from both the CPI-M and BJP-RSS.
BJP accused the CPI-M of Santosh’s murder and called for a dawn-to-dusk shutdown in Thalassery town on Thursday. A very heavy deployment of police personnel was placed across the city to avoid any disturbance.
State BJP leaders and members protesting the killing of Santosh. S.K. Mohan/The Hindu
The BJP has demanded an explanation from Chief Minister Pinnari Vijayan over the death. Meanwhile, reports state that bombs were hurled at RSS office in another city.
And just two days ago, CPI-M workers even attacked a police station in yet another city in Kerala. Children will, sadly, continue to lose their fathers because of this viciousness.
