The long-standing feud between activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the VTM NSS College at Dhanuvachapuram has raised fears of another round of political clashes in the district.
Four people were injured in two clashes that took place during the late hours of Friday, prompting the police to intensify security in various parts of the district. In the first incident, a gang, allegedly ABVP activists, attacked a group of five people while they were sitting outside their houses at Plavila, near Balaramapuram. Renjith, a SFI activist, who was instrumental in launching a SFI unit at the college recently, and his neighbour Mohanan were assaulted by the assailants. Three others managed to escape from the area.
A few hours later, a group of people barged into the house of an ABVP activist Ashwin at Aralumoodu, near Neyyattinkara. Ashwin and his 16-year-old younger brother suffered injuries in with the latter suffering considerable head injuries. The assailants had barged into the house when Ashwin’s family were at home.
Two cases
Two cases have been registered in connection with the incidents by the Balaramapuram and Neyyattinkara police. The police viewed the clashes as closely linked to the simmering feud at Dhanuvachapuram, which had taken a turn for the worse with the launch of a SFI unit at the college recently. The CPI(M) and the BJP took out demonstrations in protest against the incidents in Balaramapuram and Neyyattinkara on Saturday. The BJP district leadership alleged that CPI(M) workers attacked a BJP worker at Melamcode during the early hours of Saturday. A tea-stall and an autorickshaw were vandalised, they alleged. The Nemom police were yet to ascertain the veracity of the claim.
