THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Violence erupted in the capital city on Friday morning as anti-Mani protesters, who had gathered to protest against Finance Minister K M Mani presenting the budget, clashed with the police.
Scores of workers of the Opposition LDF, the Yuva Morcha and nearly thirty police officials and two Fire and Rescue Services personnel were injured in different incidents of violence.
Hundreds of LDF workers and Yuva Morcha activists had camped near the police barricades at the PMG Junction and Martyrs’ Square, Palayam, respectively since Thursday evening.
Thiruvananthapuram Range IG Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner H Venkatesh and five SPs led the 3,000-strong police team which was deployed to counter untoward incidents.
On Friday, the PMG Junction witnessed violent clashes between LDF workers and the police for around three hours starting 9 a.m. The confrontation began after some LDF workers pelted stones at the police while CPM politburo memberP inarayi Vijayan was addressing the protestors. Police resorted to lathicharge, lobbed teargas shells and used riot control vehicles Varun and Vajra-207 to disperse the crowd. The protestors continued to attack the police in small groups and soon the area resembled a battlefield.
The protestors set on fire a police van and a jeep belonging to the Medical Education Department. Two firemen suffered minor injures while attempting to douse the fire. A KSRTC bus and a government car were damaged in stone-throwing. The situation was back to normal after LDF leaders announced the end of the stir around 12.45 p.m.
The Martyrs’ Square, Palayam, also witnessed clashes between the Yuva Morcha workers and the police.