‘Kiss of Love’ rumour triggers tension in Kannur

Tension prevailed at the busy Caltex Junction here for over two hours on Monday evening as a group of people, said to be Sangh Parivar activist, as well as a large number of onlookers gathered there following a rumour that the spot would be one of the four places where ‘Kiss of Love’ activists would assemble to show their protest against moral brigades.

Dozens of activists reportedly belonging to Sangh Parivar organisations gathered near the KSRTC Bus Station and nearby spots at the Caltex Junction at around 4 p.m. following an anonymous messages circulated through social networks that a ‘Kiss of Love’ protest would be held there as well as the Town Square here, and Mambaram and Varam on the outskirts of the town.

The police had to resort to caning to disperse a group of Sangh Parivar workers at around 5 p.m. when they descended on a couple of youngsters who they thought were there to protest against moral policing.

Tough time

The police had tough time controlling the crowd outside the bus station. The crowd dispersed at around 6.30 p.m. when they realised that the protest against moral policing was a just a rumour.

When contacted, activists who had been in the forefront of the ‘Kiss of Love’ protests in Kochi and Kozhikode said that they were not aware of any call for protest here on Monday.