Sporadic incidents of violence were reported from different parts of Kannur on Wednesday following the arrest of CPI(M) district secretary P. Jayarajan in connection with the murder of IUML worker Abdul Shukoor.
Tension prevailed as irate CPI(M) workers pelted stones at police stations, and offices of the IUML and the Congress.
Unlawful assembly was banned after District Collector and District Magistrate Rathan Kelkar clamped prohibitory orders for two days under section 144 of the CrPC in view of the fluid law and order situation existing in different parts of the district.
Defying prohibitory orders, CPI(M) workers, led by party leaders MV Jayarajan and PK Sreemathy, marched to the office of the District Superintendent of Police at around 4 p.m. They were stopped by the police at the circle near the Town Police Station. The police personnel burst tear gas shells when the march turned violent.
The protestors attacked the traffic police station three times, injuring assistant sub-inspector Raghunathan and damaging all the window panes of the station. The police chased the violent mob up to the CPI(M) district committee office. In a scuffle with the police, party leader N. Chandran suffered a head injury. Mathrubhumi photographer C. Sunilkumar was also injured in the stone-pelting.
The protestors also barged into the district Congress committee office and the Bafakki Thangal Soudham, district office of the IUML, and damaged furniture and TV sets. A motorcycle and a car inside the DCC office were damaged. The Forensic Lab in Kannur also came under attack.
The town returned to normal at around 6 p.m. following chaotic situation for nearly two hours.
In Payyannur, police sub inspector K.P. Ramakrishnan suffered minor injuries when a mob of CPI(M) workers threw a country bomb at him. The bomb, however, did not explode. Offices of the Congress and the IUML in and around the area were vandalised by CPI(M) workers. Glass panes of the police station and the residence of the circle inspector were smashed in heavy stone pelting. The house of the Congress block president at Payyannur also came under attack as also a co-operative bank.
The situation at Payyannur was later brought under control, police said.
There were also reports of protesting party workers pelting stones at the offices of the circle inspectors at Iritty and Koothuparamba. Party offices of the Congress at Koothuparamba and Peravur, and the Mathrubhumi office at Koothuparamaba were also attacked.
The police, in anticipation of trouble following the arrest of Mr. Jayarajan, had deployed armed personnel near the police stations and the Collectorate. Platoons of personnel from the Kerala Armed Police and the Malabar Special Police from neighbouring districts were also deployed. The police said that more personnel would be deployed in view of the state-wide hartal called by the CPI(M) on August 2.
