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Women’s Wall: Police fire in the air to contain violence in Kasargod

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The Kerala police fired several rounds in the air at Chettukundu in Kasargod district on Wednesday after they came under attack from a group of persons suspected to be Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers. They said there was no report of any casualty.

District Police Chief, Kasargode, A. Srinivas, told The Hindu that police had deployed in strength in the locality after street gangs allegedly comprising of BJP activists unleashed violence against Left Democratic Front (LDF) workers who attempted to assemble on the road to participate in the women’s wall at around 3.30 p.m.

Mr. Sreenivas said the miscreants torched dried grass, attacked officers, damaged police vehicles, chased away passers-by and assaulted journalists in an orgy of unabated violence.

The local LDF workers also got into the fray and attempted to retaliate against the BJP men. The police and civilians got caught in the middle of the fracas. Mr Sreenivas, who had rushed to Kasargode from his post in Sabarimala, said the police had no option but to open fire to contain the violence.

Another officer said local CPI(M) workers had attempted to resist the BJP’s “Ayyappa Jyoti” campaign and the party had retaliated when the LDF tried to form the wall.

The police have deployed in strength in the locality. Searches were on to arrest the suspects. Officers said at least eight policemen and several civilians were injured in the violence. The LDF has pledged to reconstruct the wall in the strife-torn locality on Wednesday, further escalating political tensions in the communally sensitive area.

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