Violence erupts again on college campus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Atrocity continues to haunt the city. After a brief respite, unrest returned to the city along with the monsoon showers  on Tuesday. Four KSU activists were injured after SFI and KSU members clashed with each other on the streets and on the premises of University College.  According to the police, tension erupted by 1.50 pm after a KSU member, returning after a Secretariat march, was reportedly assaulted by the SFI activists in front of University College. The KSU member was badly injured on his head and the rest of the KSU activists were chased away to University College. The SFI activists pursued them and the clash continued on the college premises. The SFI members then hurled stones at KSU members from inside the University College. By this time the police intervened and chased away the  students. Traffic was briefly disrupted while the scuffle was going on. The KSU also staged a road blockade in front of the MLA Hostel demanding the arrest of SFI members who assaulted the KSU activist. The police have identified about ten SFI activists and have registered a case against them. The injured KSU members have been admitted to General Hospital and Medical College Hospital. Ironically, the clash occurred after KSU had taken out a Secretariat march in protest against the violent ways of SFI in dealing with KSU. KSU State president Shafi Parambil MLA has called the SFI act totally unjustifiable. ‘’We were returning peacefully after staging the march. It was then that one of our members was attacked in groups by SFI without any provocation. It was completely atrocious of SFI to have manhandled the KSU activists,’’ he said. However, SFI state president P Biju has mounted the reason for the clash on KSU activists. ‘’In the morning, some of the KSU members had beaten SFI students at the canteen of MLA Hostel. When these KSU men returned after the march, a verbal tiff occurred between SFI and KSU, which finally resulted in the clash. How can SFI alone be held accountable for this?,’’ he asked.