The cycle of violence is so out of control in Kannur, that any attempt at peace is outrightly boycotted.
The walls of both the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS and the CPI(M) office in Kannur is adorned with pictures of party proclaimed martyrs - symbolic of the bitter political divide in this northern district of Kerala.
On Monday, RSS worker K Manoj was hacked to death in Kannur. Bombs were thrown at his van before a group of people attacked him with swords, the police said. A murder case has been registered against eight people, all allegedly affiliated to the CPM, the police said.
Since then, Kannur, witness to years of political violence, has once again turned tensed.
Sohanlal, an RSS district-level worker, says, "RSS functions all over India. Why only in Kannur such incidents are happening. CPI(M) has no place for another ideology spreading among people."
In this CPM stronghold, Manoj broke family tradition to join the Sangh. His murder, now it seems, could have been a plot 14 years in the making as revealed by the celebratory tone of this Facebook post by a rival CPM leader's son.
Jain, the son of CPM's P Jayarajan, posted in Malayalam, "I have been waiting to hear this good news for a long time. Salutations, dear comrades. Feeling excited." The post, put up at around 2:30 pm on Tuesday, quickly received over 1,000 'likes'.
In more posts, Jain justified his comments, saying his father had been attacked 14 years ago by a group of men including Manoj.
Jayarajan, the District Secretary of CPI(M) in Kannur, says, "They tried to kill me inside the house, I don't have a thumb, my right hand was broken, I have a rod inside."
Now, a decade later, the cycle of violence is so out of control that any attempt at peace is outrightly boycotted. Today, the local BJP-RSS leaders refused to participate at an all-party talk organised by the district collector, instead demanding a CBI enquiry.
District Collector P Balakiran says, "All the political parties have pledged their support to ensure peace prevails, and cooperate with any possible investigations, except BJP who was not present for the meeting. We also have a strong police team looking into this matter."