Two back-to-back killings of political rivals — with communal overtones — in Alappuzha district have shattered the peace. Sam Paul A. experiences on the murders of the 2 pals from rival organisations, and why each the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Common Entrance of India are spreading hatred in opposition to one another

As twilight descended upon Mannancherry in Alappuzha on Saturday night (December 18), Fanzilla known as her husband Okay.S. Shan to investigate when he can be house. “Very quickly,” was the immediate reply. The couple’s two daughters, Hiba Fathima (12) and Liya Fathima (4), waited, craving to spend the night with their busy ‘vappi’ (dad) who was not at all times round to look after them because of his many commitments. The wait solely received longer and led to tears and tragedy.

Shan, the State Secretary of the Social Democratic Get together of India (SDPI), the political arm of the Islamic organisation Common Entrance of India (PFI), additionally ran an inside design merchandise store at Mannancherry for a residing. Following the transient telephone name, Shan, who had already closed the store, hopped on his motorcycle for a four-kilometre trip house to Ponnad (ward 4) in Mannancherry gram panchayat. As soon as he entered the Mannancherry-Ponnad street, a white automotive began tailing his two-wheeler. When he reached Kuppezham Junction (Masjid Junction) round 7.30 p.m., the automotive rear-ended the bike and knocked him down. The intentional street accident and what adopted had been caught on a CCTV digicam on the compound of an under-construction home within the location. 4 males jumped out of the automobile and three violently attacked Shan, who was mendacity in the midst of the street, with iron rods and sharp-edged weapons. Whereas the assailants carried out the lethal assault, the motive force of the automotive blocked the street by placing the automobile throughout. Your complete episode lasted lower than two minutes and the assailants sped away.

A grievously injured Shan, 38, was first taken to a hospital, 100-metres away earlier than he was shifted to a different hospital close to Alappuzha. He was later taken to a 3rd hospital in Kochi, the place he succumbed to his accidents round 11.30 p.m. A autopsy examination of his physique revealed 50 accidents together with stab wounds.

The response

A day later, Dwaraisar lane at Vellakinar in Alappuzha municipality, some 13 kilometres south of Mannancherry was to witness a bloody spectacle. It was round 6.30 a.m. on Sunday (December 19). Septuagenarian Vinodini had simply returned from a go to to a close-by temple providing a pooja within the identify of his son Ranjith Sreenivas, 45, State Secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Get together’s (BJP) OBC Morcha. Sreenivas’s elder daughter Bhagya, 14, had simply left the home to attend her tuition courses.

Instantly, a dozen folks carrying swords, machetes and hammers travelling on six motorbikes kicked open the gate of the home and barged into the drawing room. Sreenivas who was making ready to go for a morning stroll rushed to the room listening to the noise. Although he was capable of keep at bay the assaults from the machete-wielding males twice, one of many assailants struck his brow with a hammer. He fell to the ground. When Vinodini tried to intervene, a gang member brandished a machete at her. She fell down and injured her hand. Her face was forcefully pressed to a settee, whereas a machete was positioned on her neck. The determined pleas of Lisha, spouse of Sreenivas, and youthful daughter Hridya, 11, fell on deaf ears. Whereas Lisha was shoved away, somebody within the gang waved a weapon on the little one. The woman retreated to her room crying. The assailants eliminated the dhoti from Sreenivas’s physique and repeatedly hacked him. He was rushed to a close-by hospital however died instantly.

Tit-for-tat murders

In keeping with the police, the assaults bear the hallmark of the everyday tit-for-tat concentrating on of political rivals within the State. These communally tinged political killings inside a span of 12 hours in Alappuzha, sometimes called the cradle of the Communist motion, have rocked the State elevating fears of a doable communal conflagration.

With regards to political murders, the northern district of Kannur has lengthy been recognized because the killing fields. As Kannur and different elements of northern Kerala stay calm in current instances, the theatre of motion appears to have shifted to central Travancore. “Each RSS and PFI are non secular fundamentalist outfits. The Alappuzha killings aren’t pure political murders. There was no non secular issue within the Kannur murders. Virtually all of the victims had been Hindus (Thiyya OBC). Within the south, non secular elements are clearly seen. By retaliating inside hours, Muslim fundamentalists present that they will tackle Hindu fundamentalists,” says social critic and political commentator Hameed Chennamangaloor. Three days after the tragedy, a sombre temper prevails on the home of Shan. Rahuma Beevi, mom of Shan, is unable to come back to phrases with the lack of her son. “We don’t know why he (Shan) was focused. After I noticed him on the hospital in Alappuzha my son was writhing in ache. I noticed deep cuts on his abdomen and neck. He had by no means indulged in violence or harm anybody. He had at all times helped others, however nonetheless met a horrific dying,” says a teary-eyed Salim, Shan’s father, who’s an autorickshaw driver.

Abhijith Sreenivas, Ranjith’s youthful brother had returned from a go to to Sabarimala shrine the day earlier than, and was sleeping upstairs when all hell broke unfastened. “I woke as much as the determined cries of my mom and rushed to the bottom ground. Earlier than I reached the room, the assailants had left the home. My brother was mendacity immobile in a pool of blood. His face had been disfigured. I attempted to carry him, however I couldn’t. I went out and known as the neighbours. A boy got here to assist however ran away unable to bear the dreadful scene. Later I known as the police management room and he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance,” remembers Abhijith, an IT skilled.

Ranjith Sreenivas was a lawyer. His spouse too is a lawyer. Theirs was an inter-religious marriage. “To my data, there was no risk to my brother. He had no legal case in opposition to him. As a politician, he used to say issues typically important of others. However on the similar time he maintained an excellent relationship with everybody,” says Abhijith.

Hyperlink to a February killing

The set off for the homicide of Shan is alleged to be the killing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) employee Nandukrishna, 22, by SDPI males on February 24, 2021. It was the aftermath of a dispute that ensued between RSS and SDPI staff over the provocative language utilized by a few of the audio system at a marketing campaign assembly organised by SDPI. Within the night, members of each organisations carried out separate protest marches, ending in clashes at Nagankulangara Junction close to Cherthala in Alappuzha. Nandukrishna who suffered hack accidents within the scuffle later died at a hospital. The police had arrested 40 SDPI activists in reference to the homicide.

Caught within the center

At Ponnad, villagers are but to beat the shock of the brutal murders and the non secular animosity which is unprecedented within the area. Yearly, the Ponnad Muhiyudheen Juma Masjid committee presents water and sweets to individuals of the procession marking the celebration of Sree Narayana Guru Jayanthi. Likewise, the Ponnad temple serves payasam (kheer) to members of the Muslim neighborhood on the event of Nabidinam (Eid-e-Milad). Kushan, a headload employee from Mannancherry, says he has not witnessed the deployment of such heavy safety within the space in current instances. “Folks right here stay in whole concord. I believe the homicide of Shan was aimed to stir communal stress in our locality, but it surely has failed. However, the homicide actually created panic amongst folks.”

“It’s not straightforward to destroy the secular cloth of Alappuzha,” says Shameel, a fruit vendor in Alappuzha city. “However there may be at all times an opportunity of violence escalating with broad ramifications,” he warns. In keeping with him, a couple of fringe parts within the two communities are attempting to flare up communal emotions.

Although Shan and Sreenivas believed in numerous ideologies, they had been recognized to one another and remained pals till the abrupt finish of their lives. “I’m pleased with my son. However, no different household ought to undergo this sort of ordeal. The killings ought to cease now,” says Salim. “Problems with murdering one harmless particular person don’t get solved by killing one other,” Abhijith echoes.

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