THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Left protests against Thursday’s petrol price hike spilled into the streets here on Friday with the DYFI and SFI activists battling the police across the city centre and torching government vehicles. Several policemen, DYFI and SFI activists and media personnel were injured in the clashes which held the city hostage for hours.DYFI activists went on the rampage and torched vehicles belonging to the PSC and Health Department at Kunnukuzhi and General Hospital Junction. The police, faced with separate marches taken out by the DYFI and the SFI activists, resorted to lathicharge, water cannon and stun grenades to disperse them.Left protesters, who took out marches in the morning demanding immediate rollback of the petrol price hike of Rs 3.14, took on the police before the University College, Secretariat and GPO.The first violent scenes erupted at GPO when DYFI activists barged into the GPO campus and shattered window panes and flower pots. The police swung lathis and fired watercannons to chase away the activists. Shortly afterward, more clashes occurred between the police and SFI before the University College.The police used stun grenades to disperse SFI activists who retaliated by pelting stones. DCP (Law and Order) Rajpal Meena, Pettah CI Prakash, SFI state vice president A A Rahim, SFI district president Ben Darwin are among the injured.Left protesters also torched a jeep owned by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau at Thekkummmoodu. At Kannamoola, two men who arrived on a motorcycle shattered the windshield of a car owned by the Soil Survey Department. The police have registered cases.The media also faced the ire of the protesters and the police on Thursday. SITI Channel cameraman Anil Kumar was grievously injured on the head by a stone pelted by the DYFI at GPO. Anil Kumar has three stitches on his head and is admitted to the General Hospital, SITI Channel officials said.Express lensman B P Deepu was injured by a lathi blow while covering the SFI-police clash in front of the University College. Shortly after noon, SFI activists started pelting stones at the police. In the ensuing melee, Deepu received a stinging blow to his left elbow from a police lathi.CPM Hartal in Thiruvananthapuram on SaturdayThiruvananthapuram: After their youth and student wings setting ablaze
the capital city with their fiery agitations on Friday, the CPM will
freeze the city life on Saturday. The CPM district leadership has
decided to observe a hartal in Thiruvananthapuram district in protest
against the police lathicharge against the agitating Democratic Youth
Federation of India activists, which saw most of the DYFI leaders in
hospitals.
The DYFI and SFI activists had hit the streets on Friday in protest
against the petrol price hike which came into effect from Friday
onwards.
“The police action against our protestors was brutal. Almost all
prominent leaders of DYFI and SFI are admitted to various hospitals with
serious injuries following the police action,’’ said CPM district
secretary Kadakampally Surendran who condemned the police action. SFI
state vice-president A A Rahim and DYFI district president Biju are
among the seriously injured.
Announcing the 12-hour hartal that will last from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Saturday, Kadakampally Surendran exhorted the people to cooperate with
the hartal and make it a success.
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