A protest march taken out by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists seeking the resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the solar scam turned violent in front of the Civil Station here on Monday. Six civil police officers from various city stations suffered injuries as the activists threw stones at them. The injured police officers have been admitted to the Government General Hospital (Beach Hospital) by 12 noon.
According to Special Branch officers, Baburaj, a senior civil police officer from the Feroke station suffered serious injuries on his head. K. Shaji, Manoj, Shibi, Sreejith and Shukkur were the other civil police officers who were injured in the incident.
Tension prevailed in the area as the irate protestors tried to destroy the police barricades and pull down the campaign flex boards erected by the United Democratic Front (UDF) sympathisers near the Civil Station.
Stir to be continued
DYFI central committee member P. Mohammed Riyaz who inaugurated the protest meet said they would go on with protests all over the State till Mr. Chandy resigned. He also warned of opting for stronger means of protest if the Chief Minister was not ready to quit.
Mr. Riyaz alleged that the Chief Minister was maintaining silence on the issue even after his office was misused by others for fraudulent activities.
“If corrective measures are not taken, it will be a pure disgrace to our democratic system,” he remarked.
Traffic between Eranhipalam and Malaparamba was interrupted for nearly one-and-a-half hours following the protest. As the police did not resort to lathi charge or use water cannons, the tension in the area eased by 1 p.m.
The Nadakkavu police have registered cases against 400 identifiable DYFI activists in connection with the incident.
