A 26-year-old Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader was stabbed to death in a clash between two groups in Thrissur on Sunday night, police said.
The ruling CPI (M) said Sangh Parivar outfits were behind the murder of P U Sanoop but local people said a clash between two groups led to the murder.
Police also ruled out political angles in the latest killing.
“Police can find out the motive only after investigation. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) will probe the murder,” Thrissur police commissioner A Aditya said after visiting the crime scene.
Police said they identified four accused and they would be arrested soon.
Three other party workers were also injured in the clash. State Local Self government minister A C Moideen, who hails from the area, was first to blame Sangh Parivar outfits but BJP and RSS leaders denied any role in the murder.
“It is a political murder. Bajrang Dal activists and some members of right wing groups committed this heinous crime,” said the minister after visiting the spot.
CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan also said it was a political murder. But the Bajrang Dal said it did not have a unit or workers in the area where the murder took place. Local people said tension was brewing in the area between two groups and Sanoop, CPI(M) branch secretary, came there to broker peace but it fizzled out and clashes began.
“It was a clash between two groups of goons. The ruling party is on the back foot after a number of corrupt deals including gold smuggling, drug seizure and Life Mission project. It wants to divert attention from these incidents so all criminal incidents are being branded as political violence by the party,” said BJP spokesman B Gopalakrishnan.
On August 30 two activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India, the youth wing of the CPI(M), were stabbed to death in a similar incident in Venjarammoodu in Thiruvananthapuram and the party had blamed the Congress for the twin murders.
