Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) activists who had been squatting on the land allocated to the Cyber City project, alleging attempts to sell government puramboke land, were removed from the site at Kalamassery in an early morning operation by the police.
The Kalamassery police pulled down the makeshift huts pitched on the site and removed the 90-odd protesters by arresting them around 4 a.m. on Saturday. Women from the families of the male members arrested took out a protest march to the police station later in the morning. Those arrested were later released on bail following which they took out a protest march to HMT junction.
NCP activists said that they would not back out and threatened to come back prepared for a long haul. The land had been forcibly taken over by the NCP activists. Of the 93 acres allotted to the company, 23 acres was puramboke land and attempts were afoot to sell the land to a German company, the activists alleged.
They pitched huts on the land demanding the distribution of puramboke land among the landless locals. Additional tahsildar of Kanayannur taluk had visited the site based on which he submitted a report to the Additional District Magistrate.
