Author: Express news service
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 28, 2011
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/5-iuml-men-killed-3-hurt-in-bomb-blast-vs/755534/
Five activists of the Indian Union Muslim
League (IUML) were killed and three seriously injured in a bomb blast on Saturday
night at Nadapuram, a sensitive region in north Kerala known for political
clashes.
Police said the victims were IUML activists
and the blast was suspected to have occurred while crude steel bombs were
being made in an uninhabited area at Nadapuram, which has been tense due to
violence between the CPM and IUML, a Congress ally in Kerala.
Another theory was that bombs might have gone
off while being taken out to a safe location. The blast had occurred near
the house of a local IUML leader. Several bombs and bomb-making ingredients
were recovered in extensive raids in the region on Sunday.
After a lull, Nadapuram, which has a blood-stained
history of political clashes, had erupted into violence two days ago with
bomb attacks involving the activists of the IUML and CPM. Several houses of
political workers belonging to both sides were attacked.
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan said
the blast was a strong indicator of the UDF strategy to torpedo the coming
elections.
Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan echoed him,
alleging that the Congress-led UDF Opposition was hatching a conspiracy to
create violence during the coming Assembly polls and the death of five IUML
activists engaged in making bombs was an indication of that.
Slamming the UDF for the incident, Achuthanandan
wanted Opposition leader Oommen Chandy to apologise to the people owning responsibility
for the accident.
The CM added that the government would deal
sternly with the violence.
