At least 10 persons, including two policemen, were injured when the police tried to break up a black flag protest by activists of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) at the venue of a public function attended by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy near Kilimanoor on Monday evening.
Mr. Chandy had arrived at the venue to lay the foundation stone for the proposed Raja Ravi Varma memorial near Government Higher Secondary School, Puthukavu.
The police said the demonstrators, who had mixed with spectators, rose from their seats and shouted slogans as Mr. Chandy took the podium to make his speech.
The police rounded up the protesters, hustled them into a police van, and took them to a nearby station house. The police later admitted some of the injured protesters to a local hospital.
They have booked the rest on charges of rioting, unlawful assembly, and assaulting uniformed policemen to prevent them from discharging their duty.
