The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : BJP protest march turns violent

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Thursday, Jan 10, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

BJP protest march turns violent

Staff Reporter

March taken out demanding Sudhakaran’s resignation; policemen injured

—Photo: C. Ratheesh kumar

End of march: Police use teargas to disperse BJP workers in the midst of a march they took out to the headquarters of the Travancore Devaswom Board in the city on Wednesday.

Thiruvananthapuram: The police on Wednesday fired teargas shells and used water cannon to disperse Bharatiya Janatha Party protestors who turned violent near the Travancore Devaswom Board headquarters here on Wednesday morning.

Several policemen sustained minor injuries when BJP workers, numbering around 100, pelted them with stones and sticks. The activists, who were protesting against the government’s alleged apathy towards Sabarimala pilgrims, also broke police barricades placed on the road. The BJP had organised the protest demanding the resignation of Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran and also the dissolution of the TDB.

In a press release here, the BJP State committee accused the police of using brutal force against protestors who were demonstrating “peacefully.” The protestors courted arrest following talks between their leaders and senior police officials. They were later given bail from the Museum police station. The police have registered a case of rioting in connection with the incident.

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