Police use water cannons to disperse Congress workers during a protest march, in Kochi, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. Congress workers protested across the state against alleged attacks by policemen on activists of the Youth Congress and the Kerala Students Union (KSU).
Credit: PTI
Thiruvananthapuram: A march organised by the Kerala Students' Union to the office of the Director General of Police turned violent on Thursday, leading to clashes between the police and protesting students.
KSU is the student outfit of the opposition Congress in Kerala.
The protest organised in the state capital aimed to condemn the alleged attacks on KSU and Youth Congress activists by members of the ruling CPI(M), its youth outfit Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Chief Minister's gunman, Anil Kumar.
The Youth Congress had marched to the Secretariat on Wednesday to protest their alleged manhandling.
Trouble erupted when a protesting KSU worker allegedly hurled chilli powder at the police, prompting the police to respond with a lathi charge.
KPCC general secretary Mathew Kuzhalnadan MLA, who had been present since the beginning of the march, attempted to intervene and was allegedly beaten up by the police too.
According to police sources, 15 student activists, including three with injuries requiring hospitalisation, were arrested in connection with the incident.
Kuzhalnadan criticised the police's use of force, claiming that the violence occurred without any provocation. He said that the Congress party would continue to protest.
The police had set up barricades to prevent the students from reaching the DGP's office, leading to a standoff. Despite water cannons being used initially to disperse the crowd, the chilli-throwing incident escalated tensions.
In response, the police charged the students, which resulted in injuries to many.
After the clash, members of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) took to the streets, alleging that a KSU activist had slapped a union member. They demanded police action and threatened to go on strike if the alleged perpetrator was not arrested.