Kollam (Kerala): Noted Malayalam poet Kureepuzha Sreekumar was attacked last evening in Kollam, allegedly by right-wing activists. Six men were arrested. One of them is a member of the local BJP-led panchayat, the police said.

Mr Sreekumar was accosted by the group when he was about to leave the venue of a public function where he was a guest speaker. He was threatened, verbally abused and jostled around, the police said.

"If I did not have a human chain of protection around me, they would have even physically attacked me. But I am not scared," Kureepuzha Sreekumar said.

The arrests took place this morning, after the 62-year-old poet filed a complaint with the police. "Out of the six arrested, one of them is a BJP panchayat member", local police officer B Asokan said.

Sources in the police said the assailants were upset by the poet's address at the function, in which he spoke of a recent clash between the Dalits and members of the upper castes over the building of a boundary wall around a local temple. The Dalits called it a "caste wall" -- indicating it was being built to keep out the lower castes.

But the protesters did not get clearance from the police to hold a protest and as they gathered in the area, RSS activists jeered and raised anti-Dalit slogans, the poet said in his speech.

Kerala Poet Attacked, Abused Allegedly By Right Wing Activists, 6 Arrested

Malayalam poet K Sreekumar was accosted by a group of men when he was on his way back after a public function.