THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Protesting against the police action of alleged attack against their members in the midst of the SFI-KSU fight at Palayam here, the SFI Thiruvananthapuram district committee staged a protest march to the Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon.
The march, which began from the University College, ended before the Secretariat, where the police used water cannons five times against the protestors. The SFI members, who later staged a sit-in protest, raised sharp criticism against the UDF government.
Inaugurating the march, SFI state secretary Sanjeev PS said that KSU workers are under the shadow of Kerala Police. "Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said that there were no one-sided attacks on Monday, yet here we stand all injured. This suggests that the Home Department is not really under his control but under VD Satheesan," he said. The march was also attended by SFI state president Sivaprasad, who commented that none of the SFI members had benefited from the police when the LDF was ruling for the last ten years.
Criticising the police action, former minister and CPM leader V Sivankutty said earlier on Tuesday that the police explicitly supported the KSU attackers.
"The bizarre fact is, despite SFI members being attacked, cases were taken against them, thereby creating an impression that SFI is unleashing violence here," he said.
Claiming that at least 15 SFI members suffered fractures and head injuries as part of the fight that took place, Sivankutty also alleged that many of the KSU workers who gathered here were not even students.
Meanwhile, the Cantonment Police had registered a case against 10 SFI members, including the organization's state president, Sivaprasad, following the fight.
The FIR states that the SFI workers, who were taking part in the celebration parade after their election victory to the Kerala University Senate, pelted stones and sticks at the KSU workers who had wrapped up their celebrations and were waiting near the Martyrs' Column here.
The report further states that close to 20 KSU workers who gathered here too pelted back stones. However, no KSU members' names have been included in the FIR, which also states that police officers were injured and state vehicles damaged during the process.
