Malappuram: Sporadic violence was witnessed from many parts of Kerala today after the Joint Action Committee of various communal organization observed a hartal to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The police arrested 100 protesters in Malappuram district for blocking the roads. The protesters also stopped a vehicle carrying Ayyappa pilgrims. This led to a standoff between the protesters and the pilgrims and police.
Protesters blocked the vehicle for about an hour. The situation came under control only after the police came to the rescue of the stranded pilgrims.
Communal organizations such as SDPI and Jama Ath Islami were behind the hartal. There are many reports of violence reported from Malappuram district, where protesters blocked vehicles. The police have filed cases against two hundred and fifty persons in connection with creating ruckus during the hartal in the district.
Though private buses kept of the roads, the KSRTC bus conducted services, which was a great help to the stranded commuters.
In Pathanamthitta district SDPI activists blocked a vehicle in which a family was on their way to a hospital with their child. The protesters did not allow them to leave for hours and only relented when the police intervened. However, the police refrained from arresting any SDPI activist for their action.
Protest marches were held in many parts of the state and slogans were raised against the CAA. The slogans raised were specifically made to influence the listeners with communal feelings and were devoid of any truth.
