Wednesday, Oct 06, 2004
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Thiruvananthapuram
By Our Staff Reporter
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 5. Women activists belonging to the Students Federation of India (SFI) today staged a black flag protest against the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, at the Kazhakoottam Vanitha ITI which resulted in a tense standoff between the police, SFI and Congress workers in front of the local police station. The chain of events started when Mr. Chandy arrived at the Vanitha ITI at around 3 p.m. to inaugurate the Government's "100-day Action Plan". The police was present in large numbers at the venue following a Special Branch report that women students' activists would stage a protest against the Chief Minister. Women police constables, including trainees, were deployed in uniform and plainclothes at the venue. Seven SFI activists waved black flags and shouted slogans against the Government when Mr. Chandy was invited to address the audience. Women constables prevented the activists from approaching Mr. Chandy and hustled them away from the venue.
Congress bid foiled
At this point, a group of Congress workers led by the Youth Congress mandalam president, Chandrasekhar, allegedly made an attempt to rough-up the SFI activists. The police pushed back the Congress workers and detained the SFI activists inside a police bus.
Lensman injured
The cameraman of Jeevan Television, Sajeer, who was covering the event suffered minor injuries in the mele. Mr. Chandrasekhar and some Congress activists were arrested from the spot on the basis of a complaint given by Mr. Sajeer. They have been charged with simple assault and obstructing policemen on duty. All the accused were taken to the Kazhakoottam police station in different police vehicles. Soon there was a standoff between the SFI and Congress workers in front of the Kazhakoottam station. The police formed a cordon between the SFI and the Congress workers. A group of Congress men led by M.A. Waheed, MLA, entered the station compound demanding the release of Mr. Chandrasekharan and others. An anti-riot police team led by the Dy.SP (Attingal), B. Sasidharan, was deployed in front of the station house. The situation was defused following a dialogue between the Mr. Waheed and Mr. Sasidharan. Later, the arrested SFI and Congress workers were let off on bail. The detained SFI activists were identified as Asha, Remya, Lekshmi, Suma, Anu, Suchitra and Neethu.
Foundation laid
Laying the foundation stone for a new building at the ITI, Mr. Chandy said the Government intended to take up projects that could materialise soon. Agitations would hamper development, he said. Inaugurating a building constructed using the MLA's Fund at the institute, the Labour Minister, Babu Divakaran, said the standard of education in industrial training institutes should be enhanced to face the challenges in the modern world. New courses should be introduced to improve the quality of human resources, he said. The Public Works Minister, M.K. Muneer, provided. The Employment and Training director, S. Srinivasan, also attended the function.
KUWJ protest
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) protested against the "attack" on journalists who covered the Government programme attended by the Chief Minister at Kazhakoottam. In a press release here, the KUWJ district president, K.P. Kunhikannan, said television men and news photographers were attacked at the venue and one of the assailants was detained and handed over to the police by the presspersons themselves. He urged the Government to view the incident with seriousness.
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