The Hindu : Kerala News : Stray incidents of violence mark hartal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Nov 16, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Stray incidents of violence mark hartal

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, NOV. 15. Minor incidents marked the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the Hindu Aikya Vedi in the State today in protest against the arrest of the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, by the Tamil Nadu police.

The hartal was near total in urban areas and partial in rural areas. Passenger buses kept off the road, shops and business establishments remained closed and attendance in Government offices was thin across the State. Schools and colleges did not function. Two-wheelers freely plied on the roads and a few auto rickshaws and cars ventured out.

Buses attacked

Late on Sunday night, a few buses of Tamil Nadu operating passenger services to Kerala were stoned at Neyyantinkara, Balaramapuram and Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram district. A driver was injured in the stoning. Subsequently, the police halted Tamil Nadu buses on the inter-State border at Parasala to prevent further incidents. The stranded passengers were taken to their destination in police vehicles.

A vehicle carrying pilgrims to Sabarimala was stoned at Vellore in Kottayam district. A pilgrim was injured in the incident. A truck carrying machinery to an industrial estate at Areeparambu in the district too was attacked in the early hours of today. At Pavaratty in Thrissur district, supporters of the hartal hurled stones at a police team, injuring two policemen. In the retaliatory action, a VHP supporter sustained injuries. Hartal supporters hurled stones at a car in Chavakkad.

The supporters attacked an ice-cream outlet at Elathur and a newspaper van at Koilandi in Kozhikode district. In Kasaragod district, a group opposing the hartal roughed up a RSS worker who along with hartal supporters was forcing shopkeepers to down shutters.

VHP-DYFI clash

The VHP supporters and DYFI volunteers exchanged blows at Mannar in Alappuzha district, before the police could reach the spot and defuse the tension. None was seriously hurt.

The police had stated on Sunday that passenger buses would be given adequate protection to operate services in all parts of the State. The KSRTC, however, decided not to operate services fearing attacks on its buses. Only in areas where the impact of the hartal was negligible, did the KSRTC operate its services.

The Hindu Aikya Vedi, in a statement, claimed that the hartal was a big success. It said that despite provocations from the police and the Left cadres, the hartal was peaceful, with an overwhelming section of society extending full support. Hindu organisations took out processions in many parts of the State.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala

News Update

Stories in this Section