Kerala - Thrissur   

Life in Kodungalloor limps back to normality

Consoling: Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy with relatives of slain DYFI leader K.U. Biju, at Kodungalloor on Saturday.

THRISSUR: A day after the district administration clamped orders under Section 23 of the Kerala Police Act prohibiting demonstrations and assemblies, life in Kodungalloor is limping back to normalcy.

Violence had erupted in Kodungalloor after DYFI Block Committee vice-president and Municipal Committee secretary K.U. Biju, 28, succumbed to assault injuries on Wednesday. Attacks on shops, business establishments, vehicles, houses and pedestrians had paralysed life.

On Saturday, shops opened for business and vehicles were back on the roads. Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy called on Biju’s relatives.

While Mr. Chandy blamed the police for the breakdown of law and order, Mr. Achuthanandan claimed that all was well with the policing. An all-party peace meeting, convened by the district administration, called for an end to violence and action against its perpetrators.

The meeting condemned attacks on shops and houses. Revenue Minister K.P. Rajendran said an investigation into attacks on media persons would be launched. The BJP and the CPI(M) leaders said that violence would not be encouraged.

The meeting decided to form district and local-level peace committees. The district administration directed Additional District Magistrate to assess losses suffered by shops and business establishments. A regional all-party peace meeting would be held at Kodungalloor Town Hall on July 8.

Inspector General of Police P. Vijayanand refuted criticism that the police remained passive during the outbreak of violence. “The police have taken concrete steps to curb violence. Investigation of the Biju murder case is in progress. The police will arrest the accused soon. As many as 24 cases have been registered against alleged perpetrators of violence,” he said.

Those who took part in the meeting included Baby John, Ambady Venu, V.K. Balachandran, C.K. Chandran and K.S. Mohammed of the CPI(M); Sreesan Adiyattu and B. Gopalakrishnan of the BJP; T.N. Prathapan of the Congress; K.G. Sivanandan of the CPI; M.K. Kannan of the CPI(M); V.K. Gopi and James Joseph of the NCP; Thomas Antony, Saseendran Kunduvaraand Baby Mathew of the Kerala Congress(M); C.H. Rasheed of the IUML; Additional District Magistrate P.M. Francis and Revenue Divisional Officer K.N. Ravindran.

Unidentified persons assaulted a BJP worker,Unniyappan, 35, near the Chanthappura Mosque in Kodungalloor on Saturday. The BJP alleged that DYFI activists were behind the attack. Unniyappan is physically-challenged. The BJP said he was attacked around 8 p.m., an hou rafter an all-party peace meeting was held in the Collectorate.

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