Payyannur MLA's aide's shrimp farm set on fire; CPM workers' hand alleged

Kannur: T Purushothaman, a former CPM leader who was expelled from the party on charges of backing UDF-supported Payyannur MLA V Kunhikrishnan, has faced another attack, with unidentified persons setting fire to his shrimp farm in Payyannur in the early hours of Thursday.

Purushothaman alleged that CPM workers were behind the arson, which he said was the latest in a series of attacks linked to his political differences with the party.

The shrimp farm at Kandankali was set ablaze around dawn. The containers used to store shrimp and other equipment kept at the site were destroyed in the fire. Purushothaman alleged that the attackers first hurled a bomb at the shed before setting it on fire. He also suspected that a poisonous substance had been mixed into the water in the farm. Purushothaman’s nephew had been guarding the farm but had briefly left the site when the attackers arrived, he said.

Purushothaman was a member of the AKG Bhavan (Town) branch of the CPM in Payyannur town under the party’s Payyannur Area Committee. However, in the run-up to the Assembly election, he had worked as an election strategist for CPM whistleblower V Kunhikrishnan, who was backed by the UDF, while remaining a CPM branch committee member.
Purushothaman did not publicly acknowledge his support for Kunhikrishnan during the campaign. But after the election, he was by the side of the MLA-elect in the jeep during the victory procession.
The CPM subsequently expelled Purushothaman from the party.

On the night of the election, April 9, his Hyundai i20, parked outside his house at Mahadeva Nagar in Payyannur, was set on fire, following which five DYFI activists, including Payyannur West area president Sudheesh, were arrested. 
The police have registered an FIR in connection with Thursday's incident.