Thiruvananthapuram: The state on Tuesday witnessed more protests on the PSC rank lists row and the regularisation of contract employees in various departments. A section of protesting youths demanding extension of the PSC civil police officer rank list in front of the Secretariat scaled a nearby multi-storeyed building and threatened to jump from there.
The youths figure in the CPO rank list that came into force in July 2019, in which SFI activists Nazim, Siva Renjith and Pranav had topped allegedly through malpractices. The rank holders had launched the agitation on Monday.
Four youths scaled the three-storeyed building around 5pm, following which more police officers and fire and rescue personnel were rushed to the spot. Senior officers negotiated with them from the ground while a few officers climbed the building and overpowered them and brought them down. They were taken to the City Armed Reserve Camp and booked under charges of unlawful assembly and trespass.
Later in the night, Youth Congress activists took out a protest march to the Secretariat in protest against the arrests. Police used water cannons to disperse them.
Vinayak, one of the rank holders, said their rank list based on exam conducted in 2017 was stayed for four months owing to the crime branch case against SFI activists who allegedly used smartwatches and phones to cheat in the exam. Three more months were lost due to the pandemic-related lockdown while the rank list expired in June 2020.
‘’The government extended 493 rank lists during the lockdown but it refused to hear our pleas for the same," Vinayak said, adding that the PSC chairman had told them that only the government had discretionary powers to extend the rank lists.
Meanwhile, in Kannur, those included in PSC last grade rank list conducted a 'shayana pradakshinam' in front of the district collectorate. Police used water cannons to disperse Fraternity Movement activists who took out a protest march to Kozhikode collectorate.#