A protest staged by SFI in front of the VJT Hall here just before a function to be attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy turned violent on Thursday evening with police using tear gas and resorting to lathicharge to disburse the agitating activists.
As many as 15 students, including four girls, and five police personnel, injured in the clash were admitted to the General Hospital. A large posse of police was posted in front of the VJT Hall ahead of the function as the police got information that the protest alleging that the government was protecting the guilty in the murder of SFI activist, Aneesh Raj, might turn violent.
The scuffle broke out at around 5 p.m. when the police tried to remove the activists from the place. SFI state secretary P Biju, who inaugurated the protest, was also injured in the clash and was taken to the General Hospital. SFI activists were injured when the police resorted to lathicharge to disburse them.
Police fired at least five rounds of tear gas shells to disburse the students and also hurled tear gas shells into the college campus. The traffic in the area came to a standstill affecting the normal life.
A police team led by City Police Commissioner T J Jose made an attempt to enter the college campus to arrest the student activists but it was dropped following the intervention by CPM MLAs Elamaram Kareem, E P Jayarajan, A K Balan and CPM district secretary Kadkampally Suresndran, who rushed to the college from the nearby MLA Hostel hearing about the incident. CPM MLAs later staged a sit-in in front of the AR camp at Nandavanam demanding that the 50-odd arrested students lodged in the police camp should be released immediately.
It was joined by other LDF leaders, including CPM Deputy Opposition Leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, CPI state secretary Pannyan Raveendran and C Divakaran MLA. Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan also reached the spot after speaking to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Thirvanchoor Radakrishnan over the phone.