Violence in Tirur

RSS man killed in Tirur, CPM-NDF clashes NDF attacks police station

By S. Chandrasekhar

Source:www.organiser.org

Unprecedented in the post-emergency history of Kerala, terrorist NDF men, numbering 500, attacked the Kottakkal Police Station in Malappuram district trying to forcibly release NDF leaders T. Abdurahiman Baqavi and A. Sayeed kept in preventive custody. In the early seventies, during the height of Naxalism, there had been a police station attack in Kayanna which was led by Ajitha, Varghese, Philip M. Prasad etc.

Tirur in Malappuram district has, of late, been witnessing clashes between RSS and NDF. Two months back swayamsevak Revi was hacked to death by two pillion-riding NDF extremists. Later an NDF man was killed. On March 16, two pillion-riding terrorists hacked and killed swayamsevak Lakshmanan (47) as he was coming out of his shop at Othukungal, near Kottakkal at 6.30 pm. After the first murder, Chief Minister V.S. Atchudanandan visited Revi’s house and at the all-party meet RSS-BJP agreed to maintain restraint, despite the gravest provocations by NDF. The NDF has purchased, with Pak ISI money, several estates having hundreds of acres of land and is giving weapons training to its cadres. NDF men have been provided with latest bikes and cell phones. Now after the murder of Lakshmanan, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan visited his house and shared grief with his family members. Police were given instructions to arrest the trouble-makers and several NDF big-wigs including its president T. Abdurahiman Baqavi and former president A. Sayeed were arrested and kept in Kottakkal Police Station.

In the early hours of 22nd, around 2 am, around 500 NDF men in 48 cars and hundreds of bikes stormed the Kottakkal Police Station and started attacking the policemen on duty. Glass panes, furniture and official documents were destroyed. Police jeeps in the compound were set on fire. The Circle Inspector Mohanachandran Nair and three M.S.P. constables were seriously injured. The private car of the Dy. S.P. Varghese was also destroyed. The NDF men were armed with swords, iron-rods etc. many of which were ornately decorated and imported.

Based on SOS through police wireless, reinforcements arrived from police camps and they resorted to lathi-charge and tear-gas shells to disperse the mob. Around 28 extremists were rounded up and remanded. The weapons and the vehicles used by the terrorists have been seized.

Tirur is also witnessing clashes between the CPM and IUML. The peculiarity of the situation is that the cadres of the NDF are drawn from all parties i.e. CPM, Congress and Muslim League. Following the Tirur violence, 150 IUML cadres were arrested by the police. In protest IUML laid siege on Tirur Police Station. Several CPM and IUML workers have been attacked in continuing clashes and houses destroyed. Moreover the Hindu cadres of CPM, seeing its pro-Muslim stance, are allying with RSS to take on the IUML-CPM-NDF gang-up.

In order to please the Muslim fringe outfits, which it befriended, prior to polls, the CPM’s Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan ordered raids on several karyalayas of RSS especially in Palakkad, Kozhikode and Malappuram. Several leading citizens who are officiating as Sanghachalaks, Pracharaks and Karyakartas were taken to police stations and kept under preventive custody. Midnight knocks and raids, reminiscent of the emergency days were enacted. The RSS and Parivar organisations marched to Kozhikode Police Commissioner’s Office and S.P. Offices in other districts to protest the raids. Sah-Prant Karyavah Gopalankutty Master addressed the march in Kozhikode. In a related incident BJYM marchers led by state president K. Surendran, who were protesting taking of ADB loans were beaten blue and black, even by women police in Kozhikode!

The NDF has tied up with Karnataka for Dignity (KDF) and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) of Tamil Nadu to form Popular Front of India (PFI). Its ‘Empower India’ Conference at Bangalore, recently, wanted Muslim bodies in the North to emulate NDF, which has been successfully challenging RSS and CPM in Kerala, and instilling confidence into Muslims.

The BJP state president P.K. Krishnadas has called for a special task force to crush the terrorists in Kerala. He said despite warnings of Defence Minister A.K. Antony, NSA M.K. Narayanan, Army, Navy, Air Force, coast guard, RAW, IB etc. political outfits, both LDF and UDF are pampering anti-nationals for vote banks.