KOCHI: Widespread incidents of violence and attacks on KSRTC buses, other vehicles and shops were witnessed in the district during the hartal called by the Popular Front of India (PFI) on Friday in protest against the arrest of its senior leaders. As many as 14 people, reportedly PFI activists, were arrested in connection with the violence in the district, according to the police.
The police had earlier taken several persons into preventive custody considering the possibility of violence. Tension prevailed at the High Court junction for a few minutes after protesters tried to manhandle the police officers deployed on duty there.
Normal life was hit badly in many parts of the district as private buses kept off the roads. Hundreds of passengers who reached railway stations from various destinations got stranded. Schools and colleges remained closed. The district collectorate functioned with around 50% attendance while other government offices witnessed very few employees. Shops and establishments did not function. Though Kochi Metro operated as normal, the number of commuters was low.
A hotel at Parambayam junction near Aluva was vandalised allegedly by PFI activists on Friday morning. Helmet-clad persons arrived on two motorcycles and hurled stones at the hotel, according to the police. The glass panel at the entrance was damaged. Several customers were having food inside the hotel at that time. The police have registered a case and an investigation is on. “An inquiry based on examining the CCTV footage will be carried out on Saturday to pick up the accused,” said an officer with Chengamanad police station.
The police arrested five persons in the city who tried to force owners to down the shutters of shops in the city. The Central police arrested the PFI activists who allegedly tried to shut down shops forcibly and block vehicles while returning after taking out a protest march from near Town Hall to the High Court junction. While two persons were arrested on the same charges in Fort Kochi.
A few KSRTC buses and a goods truck also got damaged in the stone pelting allegedly by the hartal supporters. The windscreens of a KSRTC bus plying to Paravoor from Aluva were smashed at Karumaloor. The Aluva West police said two persons came on a motorcycle and attacked the bus. “The search for the accused has been intensified,” said a police officer. Three KSRTC buses were damaged in Aluva while another three were damaged in Perumbavoor following stone pelting by hartal supporters. A mini truck parked on the roadside was vandalised after the protesters threw stones at Paravoor Kavala in Aluva.
A TV channel journalist was heckled and abused at Ernakulam North by a group of activists when he was covering the protest march taken out by PFI to the High Court junction on Friday afternoon. Two persons were taken into custody in connection with the incident.
ONLY 35 BUSES OPERATED
The KSRTC Ernakulam depot which operates about 60 services on normal days operated only 35 services on Friday. Of these, 32 were long-route services and three were ordinary services