Kerala   

SFI protest turns violent

Kerala Bureau

Self-financing college offices, buses come under attack

TRAIL OF DESTRUCTION: The police inspecting the office of a private self-financing college which was attacked by unidentified persons at Tutor's Lane near Statue in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. — Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Protests by activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) against the `attitude' of the managements of self-financing professional colleges in opposing the Kerala Professional Colleges Act turned violent in many parts of the State on Wednesday. Offices and buses of self-financing colleges came under attack in the State.

In the capital, eight unidentified motorcycle-borne youths armed with cricket bats vandalised the office of Mohandas College of Engineering and Technology, Nedumangad. The police said the gang caused extensive damage to the stationery items in the room, including computers, pedestal fan, tube lights and shelves. In a similar incident, six youths vandalised the office of Mary Matha College of Engineering and Technology in the city.

Vehicles belonging to two self-financing colleges were set on fire by unidentified persons at 11 p.m. on Wednesday.

According to the police, the bus of Lourdes Matha College of Engineering and Technology, Kuttichal, which was parked in the compound of the Lourde Church, near PMG Junction, and a bus belonging to Mohandas College of Engineering and Technology, parked near the college office at Nanthencode, were set on the fire by youth who came on motorcycles. Both buses were partially damaged.

Fire tenders were rushed to both locations to put out the fire, the police said and added that patrolling has been intensified in the city.

Offices vandalised

In Kozhikode, offices of two college managements came under attack from separate groups. The offices that were attacked are the Kunhitharuvai Memorial Charitable Trust on Mavoor Road and the Association for Welfare of the Handicapped at Kuttikkatoor. It was around the same time an irate group went on the rampage on the AWH campus at Kuttikkatoor. Violence in Alappuzha

In Alappuzha, the protesters clashed with the security personnel of KVM Nursing School, Cherthala, and several persons were injured. The windowpanes of the nursing school were damaged in stone throwing.

A van carrying students of Sree Buddha Engineering College, Pattoor, was damaged by activists of SFI at Charumood.

College bus attacked

A college bus belonging to the Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences was damaged and Dileep Purayil, photo journalist working for Madhyamom, was injured in stone throwing in Kottayam. The agitating students intercepted the college bus near Kodimatha and started shouting slogans. The passengers, most of them senior doctors, ran out of the bus to safety.

Colleges threaten to close

Meanwhile, the private self-financing engineering colleges have threatened to close if the ongoing SFI attack on the colleges continues. President of the Kerala Self-Financing Engineering College Managements' Association G.P.C. Nayar said in Kochi that eight colleges were damaged in the attack. He said the association had urged the Home Minister and the DGP to provide security to all the colleges.

He said the SFI leaders had announced that if the Government appeal in the High Court against the Single Judge's verdict in the self-financing college case failed, they would not let the colleges function.

"It would be better if we closed the colleges down rather than the SFI forcing them to shut down," he said.

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