Gloom over Kitex grounds as Twenty20 supporters gather in strength to bid farewell to C. K. Deepu

Deepu remembered as a calm person who harboured no enmity with anyone

Supporters, party colleagues, friends, and family members of C.K. Deepu, 38, area secretary of Twenty20 in Kizhakkambalam panchayat, who died of injuries after he was allegedly assaulted by CPI(M) workers, turned up in great strength on Saturday to bid farewell to him.

The sprawling Twenty20 food security supermarket campus was full as the body was brought from the Kottayam Medical College after post-mortem.

Hundreds of Twenty20 supporters, either wearing black badges or carrying black flags, gathered in groups initially. Though the body was expected to arrive at Kizhakkambalam by only 3.30 p.m. the campus of the supermarket saw people arriving in large numbers much ahead of the time.

With the COVID-19 protocol in place, the body was kept inside the ambulance for a brief while for people to pay their last respects. The body was later taken to Deepu’s home for the last rites before cremation at the Athani crematorium.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, BJP district president S. Jayakrishnan, Twenty20 chief coordinator Sabu Jacob, and Kitex chairman Bobby Jacob were among those who paid their last respects to Deepu.

Those who attended the last rites had words of sorrow. They remembered Deepu as a calm person who harboured no enmity with anyone, least of all with any political enemies.

A Kizhakkambalam resident from Kunnanod, who did not want to be identified, said Deepu had no apparent enmity with anyone. And, those who allegedly assaulted him were not his enemies.