Kozhikode: Three bombs were hurled at a grama panchayat member's house at Kayanna, near Perambra here on Tuesday. One among the three bombs exploded but no casualties were reported from the blast.
Kayanna panchayat committee president and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader PC Basheer's house was attacked by a three-member gang at 2.40 am on Tuesday. The house suffered minor damages in the blast.
According to sources, a rift between rival gold smuggling gangs led to the attack.
The suspect in the case, a man from the neighbourhood allegedly involved with drug and gold mafias, is absconding.
According to the police, the man got dismissed from the Muslim League following a rift with Basheer. Two years ago, a gold smuggling gang which had ties with Basheer's son was in constant conflict with the family. A man was even injured in a bomb attack which occurred at a gang member's house at the time. Sources hinted that the recent incident could be a retaliation to the earlier blast.
“Police have registered a case under Explosive Substance Act 3 and 5,” Perambra Station Inspector Jithin Vas told Onmanorama. Though the bomb attack is visible in the CCTV footage of the incident collected by the cops, the miscreants are not seen in the visuals.
Hartal by UDF
Following the incident, the UDF observed hartal in Kayanna till 12pm on Tuesday as a protest against the bomb attack at PC Basheer's house. An all-party protest meeting will be held at the grama panchayat hall later in the evening.