Hartal day violence: 24 CPM workers held

Thiruvananthapuram: Nedumangad police have arrested as many as 24 CPM supporters in a case registered in connection with the violence that broke out at Nedumangad during the hartal on January 3 observed by right-wing organizations against the entry of two young women at Sabarimala temple.
All the accused were booked for charges of unlawful assembly and rioting and later released on Friday evening. On Thursday, the police had recorded the arrest of 12 BJP supporters in connection with the same case.

Nedumangad police had registered 13 cases relating to separate incidents of violence reported at various parts of Nedumangad on the hartal day.

This includes cases related to attacking and breaking the arm of sub-inspector Sunil Gopi and hurling explosives at the local police station during the clash to free hartal supporters, who were taken into custody for vandalising private firms that opened on the hartal day.

While the police have arrested two men in connection with the alleged attack on the SI, they are yet to nab the main accused involved in the hurling of explosives at the police station. The accused, Praveen, an RSS leader, has been absconding ever since the police identified him from the visuals captured by surveillance cameras.

A few days ago, the police had raided his room in the RSS office at Nedumangad and seized weapons, including a sword, two daggers and several wooden batons along with half a litre of hydrogen peroxide solution, which is used to make crude bombs. The police have issued lookout notices to track him down.