FISHERS are protesting Adani Group’s Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited He attacked a local police station on Sunday night, demanding the release of five people detained in connection with Saturday’s violence.
About 30 police officers were injured and many vehicles were damaged in the attack in which tension prevailed in the Vizhinjam region. The police resorted to a lathi attack and detonated tear gas grenades to disperse the coastal population, including women, who surrounded the station. A large number of police were mobilized in Vizhinjam and nearby areas.
Earlier in the day, police arrested Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Thomas Netto, co-bishop R Kristudas and several priests of the archdiocese in connection with the violence during Saturday’s fishermen protest. (PTI File Photo)
Earlier in the day, police arrested Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Thomas Netto, co-bishop R Kristudas and several priests of the archdiocese in connection with the violence during Saturday’s fishermen protest. The archbishop was declared the first defendant. First briefing report. Later, police detained five fishermen in connection with the violence on Saturday in which fishermen confronted local Hindu groups demanding the completion of the Rs 7,500 port, which has been under construction since 2015.
Clergy were held under various parts of the IPC, including criminal conspiracy (Chapter 120-B), riot (Chapter 147), criminal trespass (Section 447), and attacking public officials to deter them from performing official duties (Chapter 353). expenses. Nine cases have been registered against clergy and 1,000-odd people who prevented the Adani Group from continuing the construction of the port, which has been suspended for the past four months.
Action council convener Fr Eugene Pereira claimed that police provocation had made the situation worse. “The police arrested the bishops and priests in criminal proceedings and accused them of conspiracy even though they were not part of the agitation. Saturday’s violence was initiated by Adani (group) men with the connivance of the police and BJP. We want a peaceful solution to the issue,” he said.
Protesters from both sides were injured when throwing stones at each other on Saturday. More than two dozen trucks that came with rocks for the construction of the breakwater had to be withdrawn from the project site due to fierce resistance from the fishermen.
The Adani Group has decided to restart construction from Saturday, following a Supreme Court ruling that prevented agitators from obstructing work and asked the state government to provide police protection.
Opposition Leader VD Satheesan blasted the police action against the bishops, claiming that the government was trying to socialize the problem. “The tension in Vizhinjam is a conspiracy of the provincial government. The police registered the case against the archbishop and other priests. If so, when the CPI(M) men get involved in the protests and agitation, the police will file a lawsuit against the Prime Minister and the CPI(M) secretary of state. This is unprecedented something. There is a CPI(M)-BJP relationship in this project to protect Adani’s interests.”
