A row of shops at Cherthala were attacked during a BJP hartal at Alappuzha today. The protestors reportedly set the shops on fire. Four shops were destroyed in the fire.
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hartal is on at Alappuzha district today till 6 pm. The hartal, a protest against the death of a Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh (RSS) worker in Vayalar, began at 6 am.
Nandu Kumar, the RSS’ local head was hacked to death yesterday during a struggle between Social Democratic Party of India (SPDPI), a political offshoot of Islamist outfit Popular Front of India and the RSS at the Vayalar Nagamkulangara junction. Three SDPI activists and three RSS workers were reportedly injured during the clash.
Eight SDPI activists - Riyaz, Nishadh, Anaz, Khader, Anzil and Suneer - have been taken into custody in connection Nandu’s murder, while a case has been registered against 16 unidentified people.
While BJP has called for a hartal in Alappuzha today from 6 am to 6 pm, BJP Alappuzha President MV Gopakumar said that vehicles will not be stopped in view of the PSC tests being held in the district. BJP state president K Surendran condemned the incident and claimed that the police were aiding the assailants in the RSS workers murder case.
