THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Museum police have registered a case against two youngsters in connection with a group clash that took place at Manaveeyam Veedhi, the cultural corridor in the state capital, on Friday night.
The police will take the youngsters into custody soon. Meanwhile, the state police have also decided to deploy more police personnel and intensify police patrolling on the street in the wake of the incident.
The case was registered based on a statement given by Ponnthura native Aksalan. The incident took place around 2 am when a group of youths started dancing on the street to make a ‘reel’ video, said the police. The area was extremely crowded at the time due to Keraleeyam 2023 fest.
When the group started dancing, Aksalan tried to stop them as his gang also wanted to dance at the same spot. This enraged the youngsters who then assaulted Aksalan. Soon, Aksalan and his friends who were nearby, retaliated, eventually leading into a group clash. The situation was brought under control by a policeman who was on duty at Manaveeyam Veedhi.
Meanwhile, the video of the clash went viral on social media, and this prompted the police to register a case. The police were initially reluctant to take action as they did not receive any complaints.
Since Manaveeyam Veedhi has been declared the first nightlife spot in the capital city, many people, especially youths, flock to the place to enjoy singing, dancing, and other art forms even till late in the night. Manaveeyam Collective had earlier lodged a complaint with the police alleging that some people were constantly creating issues in the area. Before opening the street as a nightlife spot, some anti-socials were spotted in the street with drugs and ganja. There were also some reports of vandalising lights on the street earlier.
“The incident took place at 2am while our police team was there till 12.30 am. But there were more than 500 people at the spot at the time of the incident. We have to identify the other persons involved. Meanwhile, efforts are on to increase the number of police officers and CCTV cameras at Manaveeyam Veedhi,” said Museum inspector of police S Manju Lal.