KS Shan, the state secretary of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Kerala, was hacked to death in Kerala’s Alappuzha district on Saturday night.

Shan was brutally attacked while he was on his way back home and his party alleged that the RSS was behind it. Shan succumbed to his injuries at a Kochi hospital around midnight.

Reacting to the incident, the SDPI state leadership said that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was behind Shan’s murder, and appealed for state-wide protests against RSS terror.

Following the killing of Shan,  Ranjith Sreenivasan, state secretary of the OBC Morcha was hacked to death subsequently in 12 hours after attackers barged into his residence in Alappuzha.

Tension gripped the district after back-to-back political murders and senior police officers have rushed to the district to avert further clashes. Two political murders in less than 12 hours shocked the state and prohibitory orders (Section 144) were clamped in the district for two days.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the twin political murders in Alappuzha and said, “the government will not allow anyone to take law into their hands. Such perpetrators will be dealt with sternly”.

According to police there was no immediate provocation for the SDPI leader’s murder but they suspect it could be a retaliation to the murder of an RSS worker in Vayalar last year.

“SDPI Kerala State Sec. KS Shan murdered by RSS goons,” tweeted MK Faizy, national president of SDPI.

Faizy urged the Kerala government to initiate strong measures to curb RSS rampage in the state and ensure peaceful life for the people.

Senior police officers are camping at Alappuzha district as the body of Shan will be brought from Ernakulam where he was admitted at a private hospital after being hacked at Mannanchery. The body of Ranjith Sreenivasan is kept at the Alappuzha general hospital and a strong police contingent is camping at Alappuzha town.

This story first appeared on maktoobmedia.com