The Kerala government of the Communist Party of India (M) on Monday, December 22, alleged that the migrant worker from Chhattisgarh who was lynched in Palakkad on December 17 was a “victim of Sangh Parivar’s hate politics”, reported The Indian Express.
Ramnarayan Baghel, 31, was a resident of Champa district in Chhattisgarh and had travelled to Kerala on December 13. He was lynched in Attappallam village after being suspected of theft.
In a video of the incident circulating on social media, the assailants can be heard asking Baghel: “Are you a Bangladeshi?” reported The Indian Express.
In reaction, Kerala’s Local Self Government Minister MB Rajesh said that Baghel had been “attacked after being stigmatised as Bangladeshi”, the newspaper reported. Rajesh, who is a Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader from Palakkad, alleged that the assailants included RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) workers, who are facing criminal charges in other cases. The RSS has a high number of branches (shakhas) in Kerala and recently its political formation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BBJP) made significant inroads in local elections, even winning Trivandrum (Thiruvanthapuram).
“The migrant worker who came in search of a job was tried (sic) and assaulted, accused of being a Bangladeshi,” Rajesh was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. “He is a victim of the racial hatred being spread by Sangh Parivar in the country.”
Following the killing, on last Thursday, the Kerala Police arrested five persons in the case and charged them with murder, according to the newspaper. Meanwhile, the victim, Baghel’s family refused to receive his body at the Thrissur Medical College Hospital on Sunday, reported The Hindu. They demanded compensation of Rs 25 lakh and for the state government to bear the cost of transporting the body to his village. On Monday, the Kerala government promised compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh to the family, reported The Indian Express.
Palakkad Superintendent of Police Ajith Kumar said that a Special Investigation Team, headed by the deputy superintendent, has been formed to probe the case. He added that the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act will be included against the persons accused in the matter.
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