Yuva Morcha protest march turns violent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Statue junction turned into a battlefield on Monday when a protest march by Yuva Morcha activists demanding the extension of validity of PSC ranklists, turned violent. Hundreds of activists took out a march from Martyr’s Square to the Secretariat by 11 30 am, shouting slogans against Mani and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. All other roads leading to the main gate of the Secretariat were blocked by police before the march reached the gate.

Yuva Morcha activists cooling down an activist who fell unconscious after the police hurled tear gas shell | B P Deepu

As soon as the march reached the gate, the activists tried to remove the barricade erected at the entrance prompting police personnel to fire three rounds of water cannon. The activists who ran helter-skelter reorganised in no time and rushed back to the spot again forcing the police to hurl tear gas shells against them.

The police resorted to hurling tear gas as some of the protesters also pelted stones at them. A few activists and cameraman of a TV channel were also injured in the clash and they were taken to the General hospital.