2 Youth Congress Workers Hacked To Death In Kerala: Police

Two youth Congress workers were hacked to death in Kerala's Kasaragod district on Sunday, the police said. Congress workers Kripesh and Sarath Lal were attacked while they were on a motorcycle.

A group of people who came in an SUV stopped them on the road and hacked them to death, the police said. The two Congress workers were returning home after attending an event nearby, news agency PTI reported.

The Congress alleged that CPM activists were behind the attack. The police said they have launched investigation.

Calling the murder "brutal", Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted his condolences for the families of the victims.

The brutal murder of two members of our Youth Congress family in Kasargod, Kerala is shocking. The Congress Party stands in solidarity with the families of these two young men & I send them my deepest condolences. We will not rest till the murderers are brought to justice.

- Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 18, 2019

Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) opposition has called for a strike or hartal in Kasargod today in protest against the killing. The Youth Congress has called for a dawn-to-dusk strike across Kerala.

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala alleged the ruling CPM was responsible for the double murders.

"The CPM is trying to destroy the Congress party using goons. The youth congress activists were attacked without any provocation. They were not involved in any kind of criminal activities. No cases were there against them. The government should identify the culprits and arrest them as soon as possible," Mr Chennithala told reporters.

CPM district secretary MV Balakrishnan denied the Congress's allegations. "We strongly condemn this murder. We are against murderous politics. We don't have any role in this," he told reporters.