SFI-ABVP clash sparks tension at Kattakkada

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A clash that occurred between the student outfits of two political fronts inside Christian College, Kattakkada here got uglier as it spread outside the college campus, turning the whole region into a battlefield. Several people, including Kattakada Circle Inspector Sreekumar and students were injured in the clashes.  Tension is prevailing in the region following isolated incidents of violence which kept occurring all through the night.  According to sources, it is a tiff that occurred between the students of the college over the results of the college union election held on Friday that made way for the untoward incidents. The college had been a strong SFI  bastion for the past few years.  However, in this year’s election, KSU and ABVP, the student wings of the Congress and the BJP won a seat each in the union, following which a minor tiff occurred inside the college. Later, when the SFI members who had won the college union election were staging a march to celebrate the victory outside the college campus, the ABVP activists started hurling stones at them from inside the Kattal Devi Temple, which is a camp of local BJP, RSS and VHP activists nearby. The SFI activists in retaliation, barged inside and vandalised the temple.  The local CPM and DYFI activists also rushed in to offer support to their student comrades.  The fight then spread out to the street. Even though, police personnel led by Circle Inspector Sreekumar rushed to the area, they could not bring the situation under control. Later, more police force led by Nedumangad DySP Mohammed Shafi arrived and stopped the street fight. However, untoward incidents continued as both parties split into smaller groups and started attacking the houses of people on the opposite side.  Both the CPM and the BJP have called for a hartal in Kattakada panchayat following the incident.