The Thiruvananthapuram city police have stepped up security at the offices of political parties and their feeder organisation in wake of the vandalism of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) State committee office late Saturday.
A gang of unidentified miscreants, who were suspected to be on a motorcycle, hurled stones at the DYFI office, located close to the Legislators’ Hostel, at around 11.30 p.m.
Barring a window pane at the entrance that was broken, no major damage was reported. However, the incident is being viewed seriously by the police.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Jaidev, the footage from a CCTV camera, installed on the premises of the Kairali TV headquarters, was being examined. The lack of a surveillance camera at the DYFI office complicated the probe. “While there were no eye-witnesses to the incident, there have been claims of a motorcycle being ridden in a rash manner been seen around the same time. Two DYFI workers had gone to eat nearby at the time of the incident,” he said.
The incident is being viewed as related to the clash that had taken place between activists of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Kerala Students Union (KSU) in the Alappuzha town on Saturday evening. Soon after the incident, the police had commenced patrolling the areas close to the party offices.
Police teams deployed
Mr. Jaidev said police teams had been deployed for pickets in front of party offices and related organisations. Every possible precautionary measures would be taken to prevent possible retaliations and untoward incidents during the observance of the educational bandh by KSU on Monday, the official added.
