The Peroorkada junction turned into a battleground when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists clashed with police personnel on Tuesday.
A demonstration demanding the arrest of Kerala Law Academy Law College Principal P. Lekshmi Nair resulted in the police lathi-charging the protesters to quell the agitation. Several activists were injured in the incident. The BJP has announced a dawn-to-dusk hartal on Wednesday in connection with the incident.
The agitation got under way by around 12.30 p.m. with the BJP workers, led by State general secretary K. Surendran and secretary V.V. Rajesh, marching to the Peroorkada police station. Later, they laid siege to the junction, disrupting traffic flow in all directions for around one-and-a-half hours.
Despite attempts made by Deputy Commissioner of Police Arul R.B. Krishna at pacifying them, the protesters did not relent to such calls and resolved to stay put in their positions. The police attempted to disperse the agitators by using water cannons, but to no avail. Later, by around 2.15 p.m., the police posse led by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cantonment) K.E. Baiju began to forcibly remove the agitators.
The police resorted to lathi-charge, as their efforts were met with staunch resistance. This gave way to a full-blown clash with the protesters hurling stones and other objects at the police personnel. All this transpired when several onlookers were present at the scene.
Around 25 workers, including Mr. Surendran, were reported to be injured in the clash and they were shifted to the General Hospital and the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Many protesters were also arrested and removed from the area. The tension was defused after Inspector General Manoj Abraham spoke to the leaders.
BJP national executive member V. Muraleedharan, who were undertaking a fast nearby, criticised the alleged violence unleashed by the police at the party workers who were conducting a peaceful demonstration. The BJP and its feeder organisations resolved to strengthen their agitation, he added.
Later in the day, the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) also took out a protest march to the Peroorkada police station.
