Education, Careers & Professional News
Several students injured in police action
Source
THE HINDU
Date
2005-06-27
Information
Scores of students and youth activists, who tried to storm into three examination centres where the entrance examination was organised by the Kerala Self Financing Engineering College Managements Association on Sunday, were injured after the police used force to disperse them.
The incidents took place at Ilahiya Engineering College, Muvattupuzha; SNM College, Maliankara, Paravoor and KMEA College, Pookattupady. While students belonging to SFI, DYFI, AISF and AIYF tried to storm into the examination centres at Muvattupuzha and Pookattupady, those under the banner of AISF, AIYF and the KSU (Indira) tried to storm into the centre at Paravur.
No major protest demonstration was held at the examination centre at Holy Matha Engineering College, Karumaloor.
Lathicharge
In Muvattupuzha, the students gathered in front of the college gate at 9 a.m. A posse of policemen had been deployed in the area. By 11 a.m., 20 student activists scaled the compound wall and entered the college premises and the first floor of the building. Following this, the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the students. The glass panes of some windows were damaged in the incident. The protestors held a protest meeting and the police had to resort to lathicharge.
As many as 25 students who were injured in the incident have been admitted to the Muvattupuzha Taluk Hospital. Kothamangalam Circle Inspector and some police officials were also injured when students pelted stones at them. The violence continued for about an hour. The Muvattupuzha Police have registered a case.
In Paravoor, the police resorted to several rounds of lathicharge to disperse the agitating students who took out a march from Moothakunnam at 11 a.m. Those injured in the incidents include M.B. Shyni, State committee member of the SFI and T.V. Anitha, district secretary. Thirteen activists who barged into the college premises were injured. Some police personnelwere also injured in the incident.
Those injured in the police action at Pookattupady include T.C. Sanjith, State joint secretary, AISF. He has been admitted to the Ernakulam General Hospital.
Admitted to hospital
Lijo Jose, district president of the SFI, said that 15 activists have been admitted to the Paravur Taluk Hospital. We have called for a strike call on Monday in all educational institutions. The SFI will lay siege to counselling centres in Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode on July 1, he said. The AISF and AIYF too have called for a strike in educational institutions on Monday. We will observe the day as Protest Day, said K.N. Sugathan, State vice-president, AIYF.
Take action
Gopi Kottamurikkal, district secretary of the CPI (M), urged that action be taken against police officers who lathicharged the students. He said that it was sad that the Government was brutally crushing democratic ways of protest. Many leaders had to be admitted to the hospital. In some cases, the police did not heed to the demand of the leaders who urged that that the injured be hospitalised, he said.
The Kerala Self-Financing Engineering College Managements Association has said that 95 per cent of the 12,000 students who had registered for the entrance test held on Sunday wrote the examination, despite protests by student bodies in some centres.
Association president G.P.C. Nayar said that self-financing colleges in the State were charging only Rs.38,700 per year, as compared to over Rs.1 lakh being charged by many colleges outside the State.