In the state capital, a protest march turned violent when some of the activists pelted shops with stones. (Express Photo) In the state capital, a protest march turned violent when some of the activists pelted shops with stones. (Express Photo)

The Kerala Police took over 230 people into preventive custody across the state as several incidents of violence marked the 12-hour bandh invoked on Tuesday by a cluster of Islamic and political outfits against the controversial citizenship law enacted by Parliament last week.

The bandh, called by a Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising of parties like the Welfare Party, SDPI and BSP, was deemed ‘partial’ in major cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram as leading political parties belonging to the dominant LDF and UDF coalitions stayed away.

Though private buses stayed off the roads in most districts fearing violence, services of the Kochi Metro, state transport buses, online cabs and auto-rickshaw were active. Private vehicles also were in large number in most areas. However, shops and commercial establishments downed shutters fearing violence.

Despite instructions by the police to pro-hartal activists not to block vehicles or forcibly close shutters of shops, there were several such incidents. A number of state transport buses were pelted with stones in districts of Ernakulam, Palakkad, Kollam, Kozhikode and Kannur. A public bus belonging to the Tamil Nadu government which was travelling from Velankanni was attacked near Walayar on the Kerala-TN border. Near Thalassery in Kannur, protesters blocked a truck near the national highway and escaped with the key.

In the state capital, a protest march turned violent when some of the activists pelted shops with stones. The police had to resort to using water-cannons to fend the protesters, who were marching towards the office of the Accountant General (AG) near the Secretariat. Agitators, including women, sat on the roads ignoring requests of the police to disperse.

Examinations in schools, colleges and universities were not postponed in view of the bandh call. Parents and students were at major inconvenience to reach exam centre premises as a result of the bandh. At the same time, students of the College of Engineering in Thiruvananthapuram boycotted their examinations complaining that it was difficult for many to commute especially from far-off places.

An official police statement at 11 am said the maximum number of agitators taken into preventive custody was in Ernakulam Rural (55), followed by Thrissur (51) and Idukki (35).

Protests are flaring up across the country against the citizenship law that seeks to provide citizenship to non-Muslim refugees who have come to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014. The Opposition has decried the legislation, calling it ‘discriminatory’, violating the basic tenets of the constitution. At the same time, the ruling BJP backed the legislation stating that it seeks to offer refuge for minorities fleeing religious persecution in those countries.

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