TRIVANDRUM, 11 December — Political workers and police clashed in parts of Kerala yesterday during a strike called by the Hindu extremist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protest an attack on Hindu pilgrims.
Police reportedly fired rubber bullets at three places in north Kerala to disperse violent mobs.
The state BJP and the Hindu Aikya Vedi, a Hindu organization, called the “dawn to dusk strike” to denounce attacks on a district party office and Hindus traveling to Sabarimala, 170 km from here, Saturday.
Normal life was affected in most places during the strike. Few vehicles ventured out on the roads, save some two-wheelers. Attendance at offices across the state was poor. The state secretariat here wore a deserted look. Only the ministers turned up for their routine weekly Cabinet meeting.
Tension ran high in Pathanamthitta district, where suspected members of the National Democratic Front (NDF), a Muslim group, Saturday went on the rampage, destroying a new 1.5 million rupees BJP office and attacking a bus-load of Sabarimala visitors.
Hindus and Muslims clashed in Ommassery in Calicut district also, forcing the police to fire in the air, Muhammad Yasin deputy inspector general of police said.
Reports indicate that in Malappuram and Kasaragod districts, police fired rubber bullets to disperse mobs that tried to create trouble near mosques.
