Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Sena, BJP workers clash in Pandalam

Staff Reporter

Two hurt, six vehicles damaged in violent incidents

PATHANAMTHITTA: Two persons were injured and six vehicles damaged in a clash between Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Pandalam on Sunday afternoon.

K. Gopinathan, Pandalam grama panchayat member and BJP leader, and Thamarakkulam Ravi, Sena leader, who were injured, have been admitted to a hospital in Pandalam.

According to the police, the clash was the fallout of an altercation between Mr. Gopinathan and a group of Sena workers over parking of vehicles in front of a hotel in the town.

Sena workers from different parts of the district were in Pandalam to participate in the Ganesholsav organised by the party to mark Vinayaka Chaturthi.

The police said Sena workers manhandled Mr. Gopinathan, and several BJP workers, attending an election convention in the town, rushed to the spot.

On the rampage

They went on the rampage for a few minutes, attacking three minivans, two cars and a multi-utility vehicle hired by the Sena activists to accompany a procession carrying the Ganesha idols from Pandalam to the Pampa in Aranmula.

Mr. Ravi was attacked and his office in the town damaged later. However, the idols were spared by the BJP workers who smashed the windowpanes and headlights of the vehicles hired by the Sena.

The Sena has been organising Ganesholsav in different parts of the district from September 7. The festivals were to culminate with the immersion of the idols.

Police deployed

A police team is camping in the town.

The Circle Inspector of Police K.B. Raveendra Prasad told The Hindu that the situation was under control, and police pickets had been posted at sensitive points.

The police had registered two cases in connection with the clash, he added.

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Sena, BJP workers clash in Pandalam

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