Blast kills one in Kannur; triggers political blame game
Police suspect blast to be unintentional; Congress says CPI(M) had used country bombs to target its political rivals; BJP accuses CPI(M) of taking refuge in terror to offset its loss of public support
deadly country bomb blast killed one person and seriously injured three in Kannur early on Friday. It also triggered a tense blame game in the politically sensitive district.
The Panoor police identified the deceased as Sherin, 31, a resident. They said the blast shattered his hands and face. The explosion occurred after 1 a.m.
The police suspect the blast was unintentional and possibly occurred when the youth were assembling the homemade bomb on the terrace of an unoccupied house under construction at Muliyath
Aode. They suspect involvement of 10 people in the incident. The police also seized five crude bombs from the spot.
The Congress and the BJP blamed the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for the blast.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan told reporters in Ernakulam that the CPI(M) should spell out who the bombmakers’ targets were. He said the CPI (M) had used country bombs to target its political rivals. He said a similar blast during bombmaking had injured two “CPI(M) workers” in Thiruvananthapuram. He said the CPI (M) appeared to be stocking explosives and sharpedged weapons to unleash violence on political rivals.
The BJP’s Kerala incharge, Prakash Javadekar, accused the CPI(M) of taking refuge in terror to offset its loss of public support.
The CPI(M) refuted the charge. Its area committee in Panoor issued a statement denying the blast victims were party members or sympathisers. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan also rejected any party involvement.
KPCC president K. Sudhakaran rejected the CPI (M)’s statement.
Forecast for Saturday:
Heavy rainfall likely at isolated places over Assam and Meghalaya. Thunderstorm with lightning/gusty winds likely at isolated places over Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh. Hot and humid weather likely to prevail over coastal Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Mahe