THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Armed assailants hacked and injured Melancode councillor and BJP district general secretary Pappanamcode Saji near Fort on Friday. The incident happened at around 10 am when Sanil Kumar, 38 popularly known as Pappanamcode Saji was travelling with his friend at Thekkekotta, south of Fort. He was allegedly stopped by a trailing gang of around seven men in bikes and was attacked with sharp tools and iron rods. He suffered injuries behind his head and was clubbed down with iron rods. His friend Karamana area secretary Prakash was also clubbed.
The councilor was admitted to PRS hospital. Fort police has registered a case and started the probe. The rank and file of BJP flocked into the hospital and its state president Kummanam Rajasekharan alleged that this was the handiwork of CPM activists. Meanwhile, CPM district secretary Anavoor Nagappan has condemned the attack and stated that his party has no role in the attack. “Saji is a popular youth leader and Pinarayi Vijayan who is in charge of the home department is answerable to his plight. This is one among the many episodes of organised and planned attack on BJP workers,” Mr Rajasekharan said.
Though shops were closed down in Nemom constituency during a protest march on Friday, no hartals were officially declared at the time of going to print. Fort area has witnessed several clashes between right-wing activists and CPM workers during past two years. In December 2016 RSS Jilla Seva Pramukh Jayaprakash was hacked near Sreevaraham. Last year, houses of several councillors belonging to both parties came under attack across the Fort Zone of Thiruvananthapuram Corporation. Elsewhere, at Edavakk-odu near Sreekariyam, CPM Local Committee Secretary L.S. Saju was hacked by RSS workers recently for the murder of local Bastikaryavahak Rajesh
