One dead, one injured in blast in Kerala's Kannur; Cong, BJP blame CPI(M)

Kannur (Ker): A blast that claimed the life of one person and seriously injured another near Panur in this north Kerala district on Friday stirred up political waters in the state with both the Congress and the BJP blaming the CPI(M) for it, while the Left party denied any involvement in the incident.

The opposition Congress alleged that the blast, which occurred around 1 am according to the police, happened during the manufacturing of country-made bombs by some CPI(M) supporters.

The BJP accused the Left party of trying to create terror by using bombs.

The ruling CPI(M), meanwhile, denied the allegations and said that the two persons involved in the incident were also accused of attacking workers of the Left party, and therefore they were no longer considered as part of the political organisation.

The CPI(M)'s Panoor area committee, in a statement, also said that while the Left party has been trying to maintain peace, its political opponents are deliberately spreading "propaganda" that the injured were party workers to mislead the people.

Sherin, a resident of Kaivelikkal, succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Kozhikode. The other injured person, Vineesh, lost one palm and is in critical condition, according to the police.

Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly V D Satheesan blamed the CPI(M) for the incident and alleged that the Left party was using its workers to manufacture country-made bombs and worsening the law-and-order situation during the elections.

Senior BJP leader and the party's Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar claimed that CPI(M) is taking refuge in terror as it is losing support among the people.

He also attacked the Congress over the support offered to it by the SDPI and said it was a grim situation before the elections on April 26 in the state.

"Both the LDF and UDF are taking the help of terror outfits, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will approach the Election Commission to take appropriate measures and more vigilance," Javadekar said in a statement.

He claimed that both the Congress and CPI(M) are "upset" with the increase in support at the ground level for the BJP.

Satheesan, in his statement, also questioned whether Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was indeed in charge of the Home Department as a similar incident had occurred in Thiruvananthapuram just two days ago.

On Wednesday, two teenagers were seriously injured when a country-made bomb they were allegedly making exploded in a vacant land at Horizon Park near Mannanthala in Thiruvananthapuram.

One of them lost both his palms, and the other suffered partial damage to one palm. Two others who were with them sustained minor injuries.

Police revealed that all four teenagers were between 17 and 18 years old and had been involved in various criminal cases.