Youth congress man hacked to death in Kannur

Kannur: Youth Congress leader  S.P. Shuhaib  hailing  from Edayannur  was hacked to death  allegedly by CPM workers late on Monday night.    Shuhaib was taking tea at a roadside eatery with his friends when a gang  arrived in a van and threw a country-made bomb and hacked him  on  his legs. His friends, Noushad, 27, Pallipparambath,  Riyas,  27,  and Riyas Manzil, who tried to save him, were  also injured and admitted to  a private hospital in Kannur.  

Shuhaib, who was  bleeding profusely, died on the way to Government Medical College, Kozhikode.  The post-mortem was also held at MCH. The Congress observed a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Kannur on Tuesday. Shuhaib was    Youth Congress Keezhallur mandalam president.    Around two weeks ago, he was arrested in connection with the clashes in a nearby school and was  released on bail.   

The  CPM workers had allegedly taken out a procession a fortnight ago shouting death threats against him.  The Congress workers have circulated the video  soon after his death. The Congress alleged that the slogan  stated ‘Ninte Naalukal Ennappettu’ (Your days are counted).

However, the CPM denied the allegation with district secretary P.  Jayarajan promising to conduct a probe within the party.   Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala condemned the killing as ‘Red Terrorism’. However Mr Jayarajan retorted that the coinage sounded  similar to that by the RSS.

Kannur DCC president Satheesan Pacheni will hold a hunger strike on Wednesday in front of the collectorate  demanding the speedy arrest of the culprits. Kannur range IG Mahipal Yadav told this newspaper that four people were suspected to be behind the attack, but none was taken into custody yet. “Though the CPM has denied any role in the murder, it  seems to have political involvement, as the victim was earlier involved in clashes with the CPM in the locality with cases and counter cases,” the IG said.