At least six houses were damaged and a few people injured in clashes between Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) workers at Chavassery under the Mattannur police station limits on Monday night.
The houses of RSS and SDPI workers were damaged in the violence that took place soon after marches were taken out by both outfits around 9.30 p.m.
Tension prevailed in the area following an explosion on Chavassery-Veliyambara road on August 21. Though locals claimed that a bomb had gone off, the police later confirmed that it was a firecracker. The SDPI on Monday demanded an inquiry and staged a march in the town condemning the explosion, which reportedly took place a few metres away from the house of a party worker.
The SDPI said the march was peaceful and accused the RSS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers of damaging a flex of the SDPI’s ‘Janmahasabha’. This led to an exchange of words between the two groups.
The SDPI claimed that by around 9.30 p.m., BJP workers attacked the houses of SDPI workers Shiyaz, Unais, and Shajahan. Stones were thrown at the house of Ajmal and the window panes were damaged, said the party.
The BJP, however, accused the SDPI of spreading fake news that a bomb was hurled from the RSS centre in the Chavassery-Mukhaparamba region. The SDPI later took out a protest march, following which workers of the RSS and the BJP too staged a march in Chavassery town.
The BJP accused SDPI workers of assaulting BJP’s Avatti booth committee president Sumesh during the march. BJP’s Chavassery booth committee president K.V. Ajayan’s house also came under attack. The house of another activist, Shyam, too was attacked. Three persons were injured in the incident, said the BJP.
Meanwhile, the police have beefed up security in the region.
