THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after anti-seaport agitators let lose a reign of terror in Vizhinjam, an all-party meeting on Monday condemned the violence and demanded resumption of work at the project site. The meeting failed to reach a consensus. The Latin Church, that spearheads the agitation, however, remained unrepentant and claimed the violence was only a natural response to provocations scripted by the government. It asserted that the protest will continue.
Meanwhile, cases have been registered against 3,000 people, including women and children, in connection with Sunday’s attack on the police station that left 38 personnel injured. Four of the five men detained in connection with Saturday’s violence were released on station bail after a meeting between police and Church leaders. The remaining one, named Shelton, was remanded to judicial custody.
“Leaders of all parties and communities demanded that peace be restored. We too have said the project shall not be stopped at this stage and works should resume. I hope the Church will understand the spirit of the meeting and act accordingly,” said Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil after the all-party meeting. Though several participants at the meeting called for imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Vizhinjam, City Police Commissioner G Sparjan Kumar said further action depends on how the situation emerges.
An eerie calm prevailed in Vizhinjam on Monday. Security was beefed up in the area, and more personnel from the armed battalion and other districts were deployed. The protesters tried to block road with boats, but no untoward incident was reported. The functioning of the KSRTC bus station was halted. The protesters damaged buses parked at the station on Sunday night.
The Church reiterated its demand for a judicial probe into the incidents that resulted in violence on Saturday and Sunday. Thiruvananthapuram Latin Archdiocese vicar general and general convenor of the protest Eugine H Pereira blamed the government for the violence.
“It was a conspiracy to weaken the protest,” he alleged. Meanwhile, the police registered an FIR saying the department incurred a loss of`85 lakh as five of its vehicles and the station were damaged in the attack. According to the FIR, the police station was targeted by a mob with an intention to murder the personnel.
POLICE STATION RAVAGED OVERNIGHT
HC poser to state govt
The HC has asked the state why tough measures, including prohibitory orders, have not been clamped in Vizhinjam, where protests and violence are disrupting the port’s construction
KCBC condemns police action
The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council has condemned the police action against Latin Archbishop Thomas J Netto and termed the incidents at the worksite on Sunday as ‘unfortunate’