Pathanamthitta: Higher Education Minister Roji M John on Thursday said the alleged use of liquor and presence of outsiders at the Kerala University men's hostel, where SFI and Youth Congress activists clashed, would be probed.
Major violence was reported on Wednesday night after KSU and Youth Congress activists took out a protest march against the Union government and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Thiruvananthapuram.
A clash erupted when the march reached the area near the university hostel, police said.
Youth Congress and KSU activists alleged that stones and beer bottles were hurled at the marchers from the hostel, while Students' Federation of India and Democratic Youth Federation of India activists alleged that protesters threw burning torches at hostel inmates, police said.
The violence led to police intervention and a lathi charge inside and outside the hostel.
Speaking to reporters, John said campuses should be places for creative debate and active student politics.
"However, throwing liquor bottles and stones taken from university and college hostels at peaceful and democratic protests is an extremely serious issue," he said.
How liquor bottles or illicit substances reached a college hostel was something that needed to be investigated, he said, adding that the Higher Education Department would conduct a proper inquiry and put the necessary mechanisms in place.
"Similarly, waving black flags or holding protests against ministers as part of an agitation is something natural in a democracy, which we have seen over time. But attacking a minister's vehicle, damaging it and attempting to desecrate the national flag are completely unacceptable. The DYFI attack against Minister Janeesh is anti-democratic, and I register my strong protest against it," he said.
Responding to questions from reporters, John asked who had paved the way for the conflict and who had created the provocation at the university hostel.
"Certain people are deliberately trying to create conflict during a protest by throwing stones or creating provocations. The police will properly investigate this," he said.
He said the police would investigate the law-and-order aspects of the incident, adding that a case had already been registered under non-bailable sections.
The Higher Education Department would separately examine how illicit substances entered the hostel and how outsiders entered or stayed on the college campus and in the hostel, he added.
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
