Tension prevailed at Kakkanad here on Monday morning after a protest march taken out by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) to the district collectorate demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the ‘solar scam’ turned violent.
The march, which started from near the Thrikkakara municipality office, was stopped by the police by erecting barricades in front of the Kerala Books and Publication Society. This led to a minor scuffle between the protesters and the police.
In the melee, someone threw stones at the police who resorted to water cannon to disperse the crowd. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Thrikkakara, Bijo Alexander suffered a minor facial injury in the stone throwing.
Police then swung their batons as some among the protesters tried to breach the barricade.
In the resultant lathi-charge, seven DYFI activists and a police officer suffered injuries. The injured were admitted to the Thrikkakara Cooperative Hospital.
