Malappuram: December 16 to 18 saw the Malappuram police spearheading one of its toughest jobs in the recent past as they successfully avoided a direct clash between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the protesting SFI activists during his visit to the district. The strength of police personnel deployed to ensure the Governor's safety went from 300 to 1,000 by Monday.

Despite having only one programme scheduled for the day – a seminar of the chair of the Sanatana Dharma Studies and Research –police cordoned off the venue hours before the function got underway and entry was restricted with passes.

Though the force succeeded in avoiding a direct clash, they came under severe criticism for their favouritism towards the SFI protesters.

“Around 1,000 police personnel were deployed on the campus to provide security to the Governor. District Police Chief S Sasidharan led the force in which eight DySPs monitored the ground-level security of the Governor,” said a police officer.

SFI workers conducted a protest march inside the campus just 30 minutes before the function. The students carried placards and black balloons. However, police blocked them around 100 metres from the venue. The protesters, most of them wearing black t-shirts with the phrase ‘Sanghi Chancellor Wapas Jao’ written on them, sat on the road and shouted slogans against the Governor. The police nabbed those who crossed the barricade and removed them from the campus.

Khan spent an hour inside the venue. He left directly to the Calicut International Airport from the venue, changing his earlier plan of going back to the guest house.