Kerala: Jaitley meets, consoles grieving kin of slain RSS worker

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], Aug 06 (ANI): Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday met the grieving family members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker Rajesh Edavakode, who was killed during political clash in Kozhikode. A series of clashes between CPM and BJP-RSS activists had rocked Thiruvananthapuram last month in which the 34-year-old RSS worker was murdered in Kozhikode. Earlier, the RSS urged the Central and state Government to take strict action towards bringing this series of murders to an end in Kerala. "Centre must intervene in state sponsored violence in Kerala," said RSS Joint General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale RSS also passed a resolution in RSS Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal meet regarding these attacks on the RSS by CPM cadres in the state. Eight suspects were detained in connection with the murder. Earlier Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the murder and called for an all-party meeting on August 6 regarding the same. He said that party offices and workers' houses can't be attacked and political parties should be more vigilant and ask workers to keep away from such incidents. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had called on Vijayan to nab the perpetrators and bring them to justice expeditiously. He even requested the Chief Minister to curb the political violence in the state and said, "I expect that the political violence in Kerala is curbed and that the perpetrators are brought to justice expeditiously." The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on July 4 issued notice to Kerala Government over growing incidents of political violence in the state and sought a report on the issue within four weeks. The Commission also asked the State Chief Secretary and Director General of Police to take effective measures to stop such incidents. (ANI)