A CPI(M) worker was stabbed to death at Songal in Mangalpadi village under the Kumbla police station limits here on Sunday night.
The attack is suspected to be a fallout of the rivalry linked to illegal liquor trade, says a senior police officer here.
Abubacker Siddique, 21, son of Abdulla, a resident of Pratap Nagar at Songal, sustained stab wounds around 11 p.m. on Sunday in an attack by a youth identified as Ashvath, 35, a BJP loyalist and an acquaintance of the deceased.
The brawl was said to be a fallout of the duo’s stake in the liquor trade and Ashvath fatally stabbed Abubacker Siddique with a knife, Kumbla police sub-inspector P.K. Jayaraj told The Hindu.
The body was shifted to the General Hospital here and from there to the Pariyaram Medical College Hospital for post-mortem examination, the police said.
The local CPI(M) leadership has alleged that Siddique had opposed the illegal liquor trade by Ashvath and this led to the murder. The party district unit observed a day-long hartal in the Manjeswaram taluk limits on Monday. CPI(M) workers demanded that shops be closed.
Buses along the Kasaragod-Mangaluru stretch had to withdraw services as the day progressed.
BJP State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, who was on his maiden visit to the district after taking charge, told mediapersons here that his party was not involved in murder.
He told a meet-the-press that the BJP flayed the incident and it should not be given any political colour.
Meanwhile, the police have constituted a 15-member special squad to probe the murder. A case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered.
The team will be led by Kumbla Circle Inspector K. Premsadan and Kasaragod Dy.SP M.V. Sukumaran will supervise the probe.
A rapid action force, consisting of 26 members, have been deployed in the trouble-torn locality.