Stray incidents of violence continue to rock Kerala

As many as 1,369 people have so far been arrested and 801 cases registered in connection with violent protests which were witnessed during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by pro-Hindu outfits Thursday, police said, adding that 717 people are now in preventive custody.

Crude bombs were hurled at the house of Malabar Devaswom Board member, K Sasikumar, at Perambra in Kozhikode in the early hours of Friday, the police said.

Similar explosives were hurled at a mobile shop in Adoor in Pathanamthitta, they said.

Four incidents, in which crude bombs were used, were reported in Kannur, a politically volatile district which is witness to frequent clashes between CPI(M) and BJP workers, and at least 200 people had been arrested, the police said, adding no one were injured in the incidents.

A local BJP office in Kannur was set on fire by miscreants, they added.

A number of houses of the BJP and the ruling CPI(M) activists were attacked and pelted with stones in Pathanamthitta, Kannur, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.

The hartal called by Sabarimala Karma Samithi, an umbrella organisation of pro-Hindutva groups, and the Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), to protest the entry of two women of reproductive age into the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala Thursday had virtually brought the state to its knees.

Hurling crude bombs and stones, members of fringe groups rampaged through the streets of the state, fighting pitched battles with police and political rivals, leaving scores of people injured, including three BJP workers in a knife attack.

Protest demonstrations by the BJP and Sabarimala Karma Samithi had turned violent at several places in Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.

Police had used batons and water cannons to break up the protests.

Kerala Police will step up security for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

TK Vinodkumar, chief of the police intelligence wing, said though the Chief Minister will continue to be in 'Z Plus' security category, some added precautions had been taken.

Accordingly, where ever the Chief Minister is or when he is travelling, roads will be sanitised, cleared of obstruction and police personnel will "be more alert", said Vinodkumar.

On Thursday, the pilot vehicle of Vijayan hit two Congress workers waving black flags when he was returning from office to his official residence for lunch.

Vijayan, who is mostly based in the state capital, on Wednesday oversaw the arrests of 109 Sangh Parivar activists on charges of unleashing violence in various parts of the capital city district.

The last time a Kerala Chief Minister came under attack was in October 2013, at Kannur, when Oommen Chandy was targeted by stone-throwing Left supporters, injuring him in the chest and face.