Two persons have been arrested in connection with attack on police personnel during the takeover of a temple at Mavoor on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.
The case related to the violence that erupted after local residents prevented the Malabar Devaswom Board Commissioner and tahsildar from taking over the Kalchira Narasimhamoorthi temple at Mavoor.
Those arrested were Sivasankaran, 60, Aynaparambil Veetil, Mavoor, and Vijay, 35, Moolathodi, Chemmalathur, Kuttikattur. They were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Kunnamangalam, and remanded in judicial custody for 14 days.
The accused were charged with sections 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly), 147 (punishment for rioting), 448 (punishment for house-trespass), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of the Indian Penal Code.
The Mavoor police have registered a case against 30 identifiable persons. Investigators have already carried out raids on the residences of the suspects.
Chevayur Circle Inspector P.K. Santhosh was among the four police officers who sustained injuries during the violence.
The local people prevented Kozhikode tahsildar Roshini Narayanan and Malabar Devaswom Board Commissioner T.P. Devi who reached the temple to implement an order of the High Court of Kerala handing over the temple to Malabar Devaswom Board.
Earlier, the Palakkotu Illam that once owned the temple secured a favourable verdict from the High Court to hand over the temple, which is now under the control of Kshetra Samrakshana Samiti, to the Malabar Devaswom Board.
