Tension prevails at Kasaragod and nearby areas even as the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the district on Monday to protest against the incidents on Sunday in which two youths were killed including the one in police firing has remained largely peaceful.
Prohibitory orders were clamped in the Kasaragod municipal areas in view of the tension prevailing in the town. A large posse of police personnel were deployed in the Kasaragod town and nearby areas to restore law and order.
The hartal was called by the UDF to protest against what it called the police “excesses” in the district. The town had witnessed large scale violence on Sunday evening as the IUML activists clashed with the police. Scores of people, including nearly 30 police personnel, had been injured in the violence that broke out.
Superintendent of Police Ramdas Pothan was among those injured in the clashes. The police had opened fire to disperse the irate IUML workers who pelted stones at the police and police vehicles. The trouble had started on Sunday evening when the police came under attack when they were trying to clear traffic congestion caused by a bike rally organised in connection with a public reception accorded to IUML State president Panakkad Hyderali Shihab Thangal and party leaders P.K. Kunhalikutty and M.K. Muneer near the New Bus Stand at Kasaragod.
Additional Director General of Police Mahesh Kumar Singhla and Inspector General of Police (Kannur Range) Tomin J. Thachankary were camping at Kasaragod. Director General of Police Jacob Punnoose was expected to reach Kasaragod by evening. Additional police personnel were mobilised from Kannur and Malappuram for deployment in Kasaragod.
The ADGP visited the tension-hit areas in the town on Monday.
The body of Shafeeq, a Muslim Students' Federation activist from Kaithakkad area, was taken to the Pariyaram Medical College Hospital for the post mortem examination. The autopsy of Muhammad Azhar, who had been stabbed to death by a group of people at Karanthakkad, was conducted at the general hospital at Kasaragode.
The hartal disrupted normal life in Kasaragod as shops remained closed and vehicles were off the roads. The bodies of the deceased would be taken to their homes in the afternoon under heavy police security. A car parked on the roadside at Nullippadi area in the town was set ablaze at around noon by a group that reached the spot on a two-wheeler. The Fire and Rescue Service personnel who reached the spot immediately doused the fire. The car was partially damaged.
Meanwhile, IUML leaders including Mr. Thangal, Mr. Kunhalikutty, called on their party workers to remain calm and work for restoring normal life in the town.
