THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India, 19 April 2008 — A Muslim man was killed yesterday, taking the death toll in Hindu-Muslim violence in Kerala’s Kasaragod district since Monday to four.
Police have clamped down prohibitory orders in the violence prone areas of the district, including the popular tourist destination of Bekal, until tomorrow. They identified the latest murder victim as C.M. Mohammed Kunhi, 55, who was hacked to death at 11 a.m. during a shutdown enforced by Hindu groups.
Kasaragod and Manjeshwaram are the two Kerala constituencies the Bharatiya Janata Party has been trying to win for long and tension has been mounting there since last elections after party candidates came second in both constituencies, won by the Communist Party of India-Marxist and the Indian Union Muslim League.
The latest bout of violence erupted following skirmishes over a BJP worker urinating near a mosque on Monday.
