Attacks against public transport buses and forced closure of shops marked the ‘near-total’ hartal called by the Sangh Parivar organisations in the city on Tuesday in protest against the alleged police action on Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists at M.G. College.
Persons suspected to be strike supporters threw stones at the house of a teacher of the college at Cheruvikal. The windowpanes of his car, which was parked in the garage, were damaged in the attack.
A Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) driver, Saju, was injured when Bharatiya Janata Party workers threw stones at KSRTC buses at Medical College. The local police arrested six BJP workers in connection with an attack on the vehicle carrying the camera crew of a news channel. The police identified them as Nandagopan, Raman, Sreejith, Sumesh, Swadeesh and Sajeev. They were later let off on bail from the police station.
Another KSRTC bus was attacked at Balaramapuram resulting in grievous injury to its driver Sanal Kumar, 40. The police arrested one Vinod Kumar, Renjith, Vishnu and Abhilash in connection with the incident. They were produced before the court on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly and destruction of public property and remanded in judicial custody for a period of 14 days.
Hartal supporters threw stones at buses and private vehicles at Kallambalam and Mangalapuram in the rural police district. Officials said in many places BJP workers took out marches and forced the closure of shops.
Private vehicles and motorbikes remained off the road for the better part of the day. Educational institutions remained closed and attendance was thin at government offices.
