Kerala - Kozhikode   

Three injured in clashes at Azhiyoor

Kozhikode: Tension prevailed in the coastal areas of Azhiyoor, in the Chombal police station limits, in the district following clashes between the activists of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Popular Front of India (PFI), formerly known as the National Development Front (NDF) late on Tuesday.

At least three workers of the PFI sustained serious injuries in the clashes. They were identified as Rayiz, 23; Abdul Salam, 28; and V. Rahim. They were admitted to a private hospital in the city.

The police said the clashes started following an argument over sticking posters at Azhiyoor. The area had been witnessing such for quite some time.

A large posse of police was deployed in the area to avert untoward incidents. The police registered a case against 15 IUML activists. No one was arrested.

PFI local leaders said a group of IUML activists attacked their workers with weapons around 10 p.m. However, the IUML refuted the allegations.

The police suspect the clashes to be a sequel to the attack the PFI carried out on IUML leaders Anwar Haji and Kasim Haji three weeks ago. Both of them had only recently left the hospital.

Earlier, two shops were set ablaze and a house attacked during clashes between the hostile groups a fortnight ago. Both the IUML and the PFI had also kept away from an all-party peace meeting called by the district administration. A peace rally and a public meeting had to be called off as both these parties failed to cooperate, the police said.

The police had not arrested the accused in the earlier case.

Azhiyoor and adjoining areas often witness clashes between political groups including the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the IUML and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The PFI’s attempts to consolidate position among the Muslim population in the coastal belts and rural areas of the district had irked the other group, sources said.

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

Stories in this Section

LIC staff union to strike work
Focus on tuber crops at flower show
Vintage cars sparkle at exhibition
Three injured in clashes at Azhiyoor
‘Snehasangamam’ to begin on February 20
Model test for SSLC candidates
MCC awards
Praveen Togadia to visit Kozhikode
Walk-in interview at NIT-C

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu