PFI march in Thiruvananthapuram turns violent

March was against alleged police atrocities against PFI workers

The Devaswom Board junction here turned into a battleground when a protest march taken out by Popular Front of India (PFI) activists to Cliff House turned violent on Monday.

Eight people were injured in the agitation that brought traffic to a standstill for nearly two hours.

The agitators, who accused the police of unfairly targeting PFI activists in the sloganeering case in Alappuzha, commenced their rally from the East Fort around 12 p.m.

While the march was blocked at the Devaswom Board junction, attempts made by the agitators to topple the barricades prompted the police to thwart their attempts using water cannons.

As the protesters refused to disperse from the area and began to hurl bottles, the police lobbed tear gas shells and grenades at them. The crowd finally relented after the police lathi-charged them.

The police had beefed up security at various points in the city on account of intelligence reports of possible violence during the agitation.

Later, the agitators held a protest meet in which they accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of doing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)’s bidding by arresting PFI’s leaders.