Kerala govt takes steps to bring back students from state stranded in Mangaluru

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 22: Kerala government on Saturday initiated steps to bring back students from the state stranded in Mangaluru in neighbouring Karnataka in view of the curfew declared there following the widespread violence during the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state government was in touch with its Karnataka counterpart to ensure the safe return of the students, who are studying in colleges in Mangaluru.

"Steps are being taken to bring the students from Kerala back to home safely from Mangalore (Mangaluru). The Government of Kerala is in touch with the Karnataka Government," Vijayan said in his Facebook post. He also directed the state government officials concerned to coordinate with the office of the Karnataka police chief in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation said it operated five additional services to bring back those stranded in Mangaluru, bordering northern Kerala. Violence had rocked Mangaluru during the anti-CAA protests, leaving two dead in police firing on Thursday, prompting authorities to restrict entry to the coastal city in the neighbouring state.

On Friday, at least 50 people, including women, who reached the city from Kerala without any identity cards were detained. Eight journalists and camera crew of Kerala-based TV channels, who had interviewed relatives of those killed in the firing, were also detained allegedly for not having authorised accreditation card and released later on Friday.