Police open fire in air to disperse mob

Kannur, Mar 6 (UNI) Police had to fire in the air to disperse a violent mob at Kathirur even as the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the BJP and the CPI(M) to protest the killing of their activists was total in this politically volatile district of Kerala.

Stray incidents of violence were reported from the trouble-torn areas where the district collector clamped prohibitory orders following the killing of three people yesterday.

Police fired two rounds in the air to disperse activists of CPI(M) and BJP who hurled local-mede bombs at Diamondmukku, near Kathirur.

In Vattipuram near Koothuparambu, CPI(M) activists threw crude bombs at the house of BJP Activist Rajan, a teacher of Thalassery Girls High School at 1030 hrs.

Two pedestrians-- P K Sulaiman (55) and K Sudheep (45) of Chalad, near Payyanur town-- were injured when suspected BJP activists who came on a motorcycle, hurled crude bombs in front of them. Both were admitted to district hospital here, police said.

The miscreants also hacked to death a cow and a dog in the house's of two BJP sympathisers yesterday in Ponnyam, Munnam Mile, near Kathirur.

Prohibitory order under section 144 were clamped in Thalassery Division since yesterday and police registered more than 100 cases.

The bodies of three person who were killed yesterday were cremated in the evening .

UNI AK CR GM YA RN1809