Manjeri municipal councillor Thalappil Abdul Jaleel alias Pattalam Kunhan, who suffered grievous injuries on his head in an attack by a gang at Payyanad, near Manjeri, on Tuesday night, died at a private hospital at Perinthalmanna on Wednesday.
Mr. Jaleel and four others were returning in their car from Palakkad when they picked up a quarrel with two men who came on a bike over the issue of parking their car. The police said the men on the bike and some in the car were drunk.
The men on the bike sought the help of their friends and attacked Mr. Kunhan and others with weapons. Mr. Kunhan suffered a deep wound on his head. His car was also smashed up.
The police said that initial investigations revealed that it was not a pre-planned attack on the councilor. “The attack followed an altercation between the two groups. But it turned out to be a nasty one,” said District Police Chief Sujit Das S.
He said the police had identified the gang that attacked Mr. Kunhan, and a hunt was on for them.
