KASARGOD: A delegation of the CPM district leaders, which visited Kallyot here on Saturday, encountered stiff resistance from the local people who were agitated over the killing of two Youth Congress workers, Kripesh and Sharath Lal, on February 17. Women and youths rushed to the road blocking the team and shouting slogans.
The leaders, including P. Karunakaran MP, K. Kunjiraman and M. Rajagopalan, MLAs, M.V. Balakrishnan, district secretary, and K.P. Satheesh Chandran were proceeding to the houses of CPM workers and the party offices which were attacked after the murders. When the vehicles reached Kallyot town, Youth Congress workers tried to block them. However, the police cleared them.
The crowd asked the leaders to go back and called them killers and goonda chiefs. "Killers should not set foot here. We will not allow that. Killing is not the way to build party," said a girl who faced the police and wept. An elderly woman said the CPM had snatched two young lives. "Why they are coming now…? To kill our remaining children…? Or to search the ashes of the dead two...?" she shouted.
The police had a tough time controlling the workers. The CPM delegation visited the torched AKG memorial at Periya and the party office at Kallyot. They also went to the workers' houses, including that of prime accused Peethambaran and Ashwin.
Mr P. Karunakaran alleged that the Congress had destroyed party offices and houses on the hartal day causing a loss of Rs 5 crore. "The people's protest was planned by the Congress. We were not at Kallyot to provoke anybody," he said. Though they wanted to visit the houses of the murder victims, their relatives and the Congress leadership did not give them permission.
