Two SFI activists hurt as police lathicharge protest outside Kerala University

Two activists of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) were injured on Tuesday when police resorted to a lathicharge during a protest march to the University of Kerala headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. The demonstration was held against the rendition of the full version of Vande Mataram during the university's National Sports Day celebrations earlier in the day.

Tension escalated after police blocked the activists at the university gate. Authorities first used a water cannon to disperse the crowd, and soon after, resorted to a lathicharge. SFI state president P.S. Sanjeev said that Arya Prasad, a Central Committee member, and Vaishnavi, a State Secretariat member, sustained head injuries in the action.

Despite the police cordon, protesters managed to enter the campus by scaling the compound wall. They raised slogans against Kerala University Vice Chancellor (in-charge) Mohanan Kunnummal and the State government, accusing them of running the institution according to the dictates of the Sangh Parivar.

Sanjeev said the SFI would continue its protests to prevent the state's universities from being handed over to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The organisation has announced a march to the Secretariat on Wednesday to condemn the police action.

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident, accusing the police of attacking students without provocation. He said the students had exercised their democratic right to protest and that the government should have responded through discussion rather than force. Vijayan expressed shock that a student was hit in the eye with a lathi and noted that female students were beaten even in the absence of women police officers. He demanded the immediate removal of the officers involved and a thorough investigation into the incident.