Congress MLA Shafi Parambil roughed up by police during KSU march

Thiruvananthapuram: Congress legislator Shafi Parambil was on Tuesday roughed up by the Kerala police here when he was trying to calm down activists of Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress.

The KSU had called for a march to the Kerala Legislative Assembly to protest against the functioning of the Kerala University where allegations of manipulation in marks have surfaced.

The students were also protesting against the alleged botched investigation by the police into the death of two Dalit girls in Palakkad, leading to the acquittal of the accused last month.

KSU president K M Abhijith, who was leading the march, engaged in a heated argument with the police when water cannons were used to disperse the crowd.

Unable to contain the students, the police caned them. In the melee, Parambil also came under attack, while Abhijith and a few others received injuries. Some of them were seen bleeding.

On hearing about the attack on Parambil, the Congress-led opposition staged a protest in the Assembly and brought the House to a standstill, and later boycotted the day's proceedings.

The opposition legislators reached the local Police camp in the city where the injured were brought after the arrest.

Parambil, who suffered an injury on his head, said had the Kerala Police shown this kind of dedication to their duty, the accused in the Dalit girls murder case would not have walked scot-free.

"You (media) witnessed the manner in which we protested today (Tuesday). Nothing was done against the law, no vehicles were damaged or any destruction took place. We protested in the most democratic manner and yet they took us to the task. We will continue to raise this issue both inside and outside the assembly," said Parambil.

The police, however, claimed that those injured in the protest refused to go to the hospital for treatment and hence they were removed from the Police camp.

Meanwhile, the KSU has called for a statewide educational strike on Wednesday in protest to the police action.

(With IANS inputs)