Kerala university protest turns violent over suspension of five students; police use water cannons

A protest march organised by the SFI against the suspension of five students by the Central University of Keralam turned violent on Friday, prompting police to use water cannons to disperse protesters at Periya here, police said. The university suspended the five students following a protest during a two-day seminar on the 150th anniversary of the national song, Vande Mataram, held on the campus on October 6 and 7.

The students had protested against the conduct of the seminar on Vande Mataram in the university and against the presence of J Nandakumar, national convener of an RSS-linked organisation, at the event. They also alleged that several students who had registered for the event were denied entry.

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Case against student leaders

Police subsequently registered a case against 25 student leaders, following which the university suspended five students for two weeks on Thursday.

The suspended students are SFI activists Sayed Ali S and Aved V B, MSF activists Shabeer and Taqiyuddin, and KSU activist Mohammed Yasin. SFI activists marched towards the university campus on Friday, raising slogans against the suspensions, police said. Police have erected barricades to prevent the protesters from reaching the administrative block. When some protesters allegedly attempted to climb over and pull down the barricades, police used water cannons to disperse them, officials said. Officials said a large police contingent has been deployed in the area as protests were likely to continue on the campus.