Sabarimala row: 20 arrested for hurling bombs at homes of CPM leaders, former state BJP chief in Kerala

The Kerala police on Saturday arrested 20 people in connection with an attack on Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) MLA AN Shamseer’s residence in Kannur on Friday. Unidentified persons riding a bike hurled a bomb at Shamseer’s house at Madapeedikayil near Thalassery in Kannur district of northern Kerala at around 10:15 pm, police told PTI. According to The Times of India, no one from Shamseer’s family was injured but the water tank in the house was damaged.

Kerala: Country-made bomb hurled at CPI(M) MLA AN Shamseer's residence in Kannur. Police investigation underway pic.twitter.com/ORn99r90yC

— ANI (@ANI) January 4, 2019

“This was an RSS conspiracy to instigate violence in the state. They intend to create violence and destroy the peaceful atmosphere of the state,” Shamseer told media. The attack happened when the Left leader was attending a peace meeting organised at Thalassery after widespread violence had hit the state following the hartal declared by right-wing groups over the entry of women in Sabarimala. A few hours later, a crude bomb was hurled at former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president and Rajya Sabha MP V Muralidharan’s ancestral home in Kannur. No one was injured in the incident, reports said. According to NDTV, Muraleedharan alleged that the CPM was behind the attack. Moreover, bombs were also hurled at the homes of CPM leader and former Kannur CPM district secretary P Sasi and CPM worker CK Vishak. Two shops and the house of a CPM local leader at Adoor were also attacked with bombs on Friday. Seven persons were injured in these attacks. The windowpanes in Sasi’s house were damaged in the attack.  Meanwhile, Vishak suffered stab injuries at Iritty. He is currently undergoing treatment, The Times of India reported. In another development, prohibitory orders have been issued at Pandalam, Adoor and Kodumon police station areas in Pathanamthitta district for seven days. Pathanamthitta has witnessed widespread violence over the entry of women into the hill-top shrine of Sabarimala resulting in the death of a Sabarimala Karma Samiti member Chandran Unnithan at Pandalam. Kerala has been marred with violence since the afternoon of 2 January after two women of menstruating age managed to enter Sabarimala temple . The police have filed 801 cases related to the violence that broke out after various Hindu groups called for a state-wide shutdown of shops and other establishments on Wednesday to protest against the entry of the women. The southern state has been witnessing massive protests from the right-wing organisations since the Left-led state government decided to implement the 28 September order of the Supreme Court allowing women of all ages to enter the centuries-old temple. With inputs from agencies