Ten DYFI activists, five policemen injured in clashes

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 9: About ten Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) activists and five policemen were injured as the secretariat march by the DYFI activists, demanding the resignation of Education Minister E T Mohammad Basheer, turned violent today.

The police burst tear-gas shells to disperse the activists as mild cane charge and water canon failed to bring them under control when they barged into the secretriate complex, to burn an effigy of Education Minister.

However, the agitators, led by DYFI All India President K N Balagopal, burnt the effigy in the complex.

The state-wide agitation was organised by the Pro-left Students unions against alleged carelessness in bringing and distributing the SSLC question papers without any security cover.

A police jeep was also burnt outside the college.

Later, the police dispersed the AIYF activists, who tried to move into the office of the District Education Office.

A Kozhikode report said hundreds of pro-CPI (M) of DYFI and SFI activists took out separate marches to the office of the Deputy Director of Education in the city. Addressing the activits, DYFI Kerala unit secretary A Pradeep Kumar alleged that Mr Basheer had no moral right to continue in office because the department had failed to transport the documents meant for distribution in Badagara and Wayanad educational district without proper security cover.

Demanding a probe into the improper transporation, he said the laxity in handling such sensitive documents would have resulted in the leakage of questions papers for the examination beginning on March 15, jeopardizing the future of as many as 5.5 lakh students in the state.

However, the demonstration was peaceful as no untoward incident was reported, police said.

Meanwhile, sources in the the district education department today said the question papers, kept in the District Collectorate after were prevented from being transporated yesterday, were handed over to the concerned educational district safely.

The authorities, who undertook a scrutiny of the documents said the bundles were intact and no paper was found missing.

Reports from Alapuzha, Kollam and Thrissur said that the DYFI and AIYF activists staged demonstartions in front of the District education offices.

Twenty persons, including three police personnel, were injured in the lathi-charge when the SFI march to the District Education Office in Thrissur turned violent. Two police jeeps and a van were also partially damaged. Thirty persons were taken into custody in connection with the incident.

UNI