Have you heard the elite jet-set human rights activists’ network in India, habituated to plush conferences, ever speak on how Karthik was attacked and nearly bludgeoned by communist goons? AYUSH ANAND and VAIBHAV CHADDHA report from ground zero on the CPI(M)’s terror model in their “liberated” and “progressive” zones:
Victim- Karthik
Place – Kakkayanagad, Iritty Taluk, Kannur District, Kerala.
Date of Attack– May 30, 2016
Incident– On July 20, 2016 we visited Karthik, a seven-year old boy who was attacked by CPM goons at home.
Rahul, Karthik’s father, told us how on May 30, 2016, three CPM goons came to his residence to look for him and to beat him up. Not finding him, the goons attacked Karthik, a class two student. The goons caught Karthik by his hair and banged his head to the wall. The CPM goons did not stop at that; they attacked the child with a big sharp knife they had brought along to kill Rahul, and badly injured Karthik’s left hand. Because of the severe injuries received, the child could not attend school for a month. While leaving, the CPM goons broke windows and even burnt the furniture in a room.
When we asked Karthik’s father, Rahul, the probable reason for such a vicious and murderous attack, he replied it was because of his proximity to the Bharatiya Janata Party in that particular area. Rahul had contested as a BJP candidate from the 14th ward of Muzhakunnu panchayat and his wife Ramya had contested on a BJP ticket from Parakundam ward during the last panchayat poll held in Kerala in November 2015. This had not gone well with the CPM cadres in the area and thu, they conspired to attack the family.
Rahul also told us that CPM men often threaten him and say that they won’t let him survive and would also block his business activities. Rahul feels scared to leave his house, worried that in his absence, his wife, little Karthik and his year-old daughter Kanya would be attacked by CPM cadres. The police in the area, he complained, does not help his family nor other BJP/ RSS workers, but instead support the criminals.
While speaking to us, Karthik’s wife Ramya also mentioned that she was scared for the life of her husband and children. She told us how often Karthik sometimes wakes up at night and starts crying and complaining that people are coming to beat him up. The child continues to live under the mental trauma of the attack. He is still unable to pick up the school bag himself and has to visit the doctor for six months for physiotherapy of his hand.
The family told us that the prime accused in this case is one ‘Manu’. On April 10, 2016, the same Manu had attacked Santosh, RSS Shakha Karyavah in the nearby area. Santosh’s knees were attacked with steel rods and he had to spend 56 days in hospital. Even now he is unable to walk properly. ‘Manu’ has four cases pending against him, which include two for hurling bombs and the other is the case of Karthik.
After the attack, Kerala State BJP President Kummanam Rajasekharan, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi, Congress leaders M Ramachandran, former Union Minister and IUML State general secretary PK Kunjalikutty met with Karthik and condemned the violence.
While interviewing the family, we saw the fear on the faces of Karthik’s parents. They feared that they could be attacked at any moment. The local RSS members told us how Swayamsewaks and BJP workers of the surrounding areas were protecting the family from CPI(M) cadres.