Rival student outfits clash in Kerala's Maharaja's College; campus shut indefinitely

Kochi: Tension prevailed in the famed Maharaja's College in Kerala on Thursday following a midnight clash between rival student outfits in the campus, where a Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader was stabbed and suffered injuries.

The authorities decided to shut the college indefinitely in the wake of the assault incidents.

The clash between the activists of the SFI, the student wing of the ruling CPI (M), and the Kerala Students' Union (KSU) and Fraternity, another youth outfit, broke out in the campus late on Wednesday night.

The two groups even clashed with each other in the nearby general hospital where they were taken for treatment, police said.

Three cases were registered in connection with the midnight clash.

One case was based on the complaint of the assaulted SFI leader Abdul Nasar P A while the second one was registered on the basis of the complaint lodged by KSU's Amal Tomy. The third one was filed by a doctor of the general hospital for allegedly obstructing his duty, police said.

'Various student outfits on the campus have been at a loggerhead for sometime over the college elections. The present clashes were the continuation of that ongoing tussle,' a police officer told PTI.

SFI alleged that the KSU-Fraternity activists initiated the clash by attacking their unit secretary, Nasar, with a knife, wooden panels and liquor bottles. He is currently under treatment at a hospital for his injuries, they said.

The KSU-Fraternity activists, however, rejected the charges and alleged that many of their workers suffered injuries in the attack unleashed by SFI workers.

According to the FIR, Nasar was attacked inside the campus late on Wednesday night by the activists of the KSU and Fraternity. This was allegedly in response to the SFI leader's protest against them regarding another incident inside the college.

A case has been registered against 14 KSU and Fraternity activists and five other students in this regard, police said.

The accused came with the intention of attacking and killing the victim, the FIR pointed out.

'The accused threatened to kill Nasar after blocking him near the chemistry lab inside the campus and hacked him with a dagger all over the body multiple times,' it said.

On Wednesday, an assistant professor was allegedly hit with a sharp object from behind by a student at the same college following an argument over the suspension of another student, police said.