THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: High drama prevailed at the relocated Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) outlet at Balaramapuram after 300-odd protesters, including women and activists of various political fronts, tried to forcefully close down the outlet on Tuesday.
The irate protesters reportedly barged into the outlet pushing aside the police personnel deployed at the liquor vend. The Balaramapuram police have registered a case.
According to the police, the protesters assembled in front of the newly-shifted outlet near Rasalpuram around 11 am with a stop memo order issued by the panchayat.
Refusing to shut down the outlet, the Bevco staff asked the protesters to take up the issue with the higher-ups.This irked the protesters and they tried to barge into the office of the outlet. However, a huge battalion of police stationed at the spot blocked them.
Later, Kovalam legislator M Vincent came to the spot. However, he was also stopped by the police. This led to a scuffle between the police and the protesters. The law and order situation was brought under control by 1 pm after the protesters got assurance from the Bevco authorities that the outlet would be closed down soon. The police registered cases against 300 activists and slapped multiple charges against them.