Opposition to fielding wife as candidate; Congress (M) leader hacked by brother-in-law

KOLLAM: A Kerala Congress (M) leader was hacked on the head with a masonry trowel by his brother-in-law. The hacked person was Ushalayam Sivarajan (59), a member of the Kerala Congress (M) state steering committee and chairman of the Kallada Grama Panchayat Standing Committee. The police have registered a case against Sivarajan's brother-in-law Biju (48).

The attack is said to have been triggered by a dispute over whether to field Usha, Sivarajan's sister and Biju's wife, in the upcoming local body elections. The incident took place at 9 pm on Sunday at Adikkattumukku near Karali Junction. Sivarajan said that Biju stopped him and attacked him without provocation when he got out of his car and tried to enter a shop to buy something.

Biju hit Sivarajan on the head with a masonry trowel. Sivarajan, who fell to the ground after being injured, was immediately taken to the Sasthamkotta Taluk Hospital. There was a move to field Usha in the third ward of West Kallada gram panchayat, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste women. She is a former panchayat member. However, Biju said that his wife could not be fielded again. Sivarajan said that his sister has been at loggerheads with Biju for a long time.