Tirur: The Indian Union Muslim League blamed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for the murder of its activist soon after the results of the five bypolls in Kerala were declared on Thursday. The IUML has called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Ponnani, Tavanoor, Tirur, Tanur, Parappangadi and Vallikunu constituencies in north Kerala on Friday over the gory crime that may precipitate tensions in the region.
A 35-year-old man was hacked to death at Anchudi near Tanur in Kerala's Malappuram district on Thursday evening.
The deceased has been identified as Ishaq who had been associated with the Muslim League.
An armed gang attacked Ishaq, a native of Puthiya Kadapuram, near his house on Thursday evening, police said.
Local people rushed him to the Tirur district hospital, but his life could not be saved.
The IUML leaders alleged that CPM workers were behind the murder and demanded that the culprits be arrested soon.
CPM district secretary E N Mohandas refuted IUML charges over Ishaq's murder. He claimed that his party had no role in the killing, and that personal issues and enmity could have led to the murder.
He also urged that the latest incident of violence could not become an obstacle in the joint efforts of the CPM-Muslim League to maintain an atmosphere of peace in the coastal regions.
The police have stepped up security in the Tanur area which is part of the Malabar region where the IUML holds sway.
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