Alappuzha:
Unidentified persons damaged the bust of founder-leader of the communist movement in Kerala P Krishna Pillai and torched his memorial in the district in the wee-hours today, police said.
Pillai, founder-secretary of the Communist Party in Kerala when it was formed in 1937, died of snake-bite on August 19, 1948, while living underground in a thatched hut at Muhamma, which was later turned into a memorial.
A special team headed by K Padmakumar, IG, Central Range, has been formed to probe the incident.
The CPI (M) and CPI have jointly called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in Alappuzha district tomorrow to protest the vandalisation of the memorial, held in high esteem by the Communists in Kerala and outside.
Leader of the Opposition VS Achuthanandan and CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident and wanted government to track down and book the culprits without delay.
In a statement, CPI state secretary Pannian Raveendran said what had been vandalised was a memorial which was held in high reverence by the Communists in the country. The deplorable act appeared to be result of a conspiracy, he said.