Kochi: Twenty-four labourers from outside the state were arrested by the police on Sunday in connection with the violence broke out at a labour camp in Kizhakkambalam, in the suburbs of Kochi, at Christmas night.
Eighteen people have been charged with attempt to murder on a sub inspector while six have been arrested for vandalising a police vehicle. All are workers of the Kizhakkambalam-based Kitex Group. Sabu M Jacob, the managing director of Kitex, on Sunday said the company had no role in the clash.
Five police officers, including the Kunnathunadu Police Station House Officer, were injured in violence that broke out in a guest-workers' camp in Kizhakkambalam here on Saturday. Kunnathunadu Police SHO Circle Inspector V T Shajan and four others were admitted to Kolenchery Medical College Hospital in the wee hours of Sunday.
The clashes erupted in the camp, where labourers of Kitex company were staying, in the middle of the night while Christmas celebration was going on.
According to the police, the officers reached the spot soon and a group of inebriated workers attacked them. They also set fire to one of the police jeeps at the spot and attacked locals, who were present at the time. Those who tried to capture the incident on their mobile phones were also beaten by the group.
"The workers had assaulted the police officers, including a Circle Inspector, who had reached the spot to resolve the arguments between two groups of labourers on Saturday night," the Kitex Group Managing Director Sabu Jacob told the media over phone.
He said that initially the camp security and the supervisors tried to intervene and resolve the issue, but they too were assaulted and thereafter, the police was called.
However, when the police arrived, the "uncontrollable" workers brutally attacked the officers, who were forced to retreat to safety, leaving their vehicles behind.
According to television reports, several people were injured in the clashes. The mob also hurled stones at vehicles and local residents. Two other vehicles were also damaged in the attack.
Police said the attackers were in an inebriated condition and as many as 500 cops, led by Aluva (Rural) Superintendent of Police K Karthick, were deployed in the area to control the situation.
"A special team headed by Perumbavoor DySP Anuj Paliwal has been constituted to probe the incident and nab the culprits as soon as possible," K Karthick told Manorama News on Sunday.
Jacob said that there was no criminal intent behind what happened and claimed that drugs were brought into the camp and some of the workers were probably under its influence, leading to them becoming "uncontrollable". He said his company would cooperate with the investigation.
An estimated 3,000 guest-workers were staying in the camp. The police have taken around 150 workers into custody in connection with the incident.
(With PTI inputs)
