Kerala - Kozhikode

NYC’s collectorate march turns violent

Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

Action-packed: A scene from the clash between the police and NYC workers in front of the district collectorate on Monday. —

KOZHIKODE: More than 20 Nationalist Youth Congress (NYC) workers including its national general secretary, K. Praveenkumar and seven policemen were injured when police used tear-gas shells and resorted to caning the NYC workers who turned violent pushing down police barricade, throwing stones and attacking the policemen during its collectorate march here on Monday.

The workers who ran away also smashed the window panes of two KSRTC buses and a jeep of the Balussery block panchayat.

The driver of the jeep, Pratheesh, was injured when the window panes were smashed by NYC workers.

Circle Inspector (CI) of Police, Nadakkavu, Sreeraj and CI, Chevayur, Sabu and five other policemen were injured in the stone throwing and attack by NYC workers. A few of the NYC activists were seen attacking the police with sticks.

The trouble started at the collectorate march taken out by NYC workers to protest against the ‘anti-people policies’ of the LDF government, when Sadirikoya, district president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was speaking after the inaugural speech by Mr. Praveenkumar. Workers threw stones at the police and tried to push down the barricade.

At first, police used tear gas shells. Then they chased away the workers by caning them.

Seven of the injured workers were admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College and the rest to the Beach Hospital. Twenty four workers were taken into custody by the police.

Earlier, Mr. Praveenkumar, while inaugurating the march, said that the role of opposition in the State had been taken over by NCP and NYC. He asked why V.S. Achuthanandan, in whom both his own party and public had lost confidence, was shamelessly clinging on to the chair of chief minister

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