Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran CPM leader and Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has written to state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, accusing the police and Youth Congress of carrying out "planned violence" at the Kerala University men's hostel here and seeking strict action against those responsible.

In a statement, Vijayan claimed that the decision of the Youth Congress to start their protest march near the hostel premises instead of traditional demonstration sites indicated that they "deliberately wanted to create a conflict."

"Therefore, it is necessary to urgently investigate whether the police had given permission for this march to start from the hostel premises," he said.

The primary demand outlined in the letter is for stringent action against the "violent Youth Congress workers and the police officers who misused their power."

Allegations of targeted attack and police inaction

In his letter, Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that on the night of September 30, a mob of roughly 200 attackers surrounded the hostel armed with deadly weapons—including sticks, stones, and beer bottles—and hurled fire torches into the premises.

He further claimed that despite visual evidence identifying attackers, including the Youth Congress district president, throwing stones at the hostel inmates, neither the Congress leadership nor the police acted to restrain them.

"Moreover, the police provided full protection to the Youth Congress members who returned after the march and continued the violence," Vijayan claimed.

He stated that the police later broke down the hostel gate under the pretext of resolving the conflict, entering without the warden's permission and brutally assaulting Students Federation of India (SFI) workers. He added that even the state secretary of the SFI, who had arrived to calm the students on the instructions of senior police officials, was beaten by officers.

According to Vijayan, around 40 students sustained injuries during the violence, with three suffering serious head trauma. He also accused the police of giving silent consent to the "inhumane incident" of attackers blocking an ambulance attempting to transport the injured.

Accusations of political bias and double standards

Addressing the legal actions following the clash, Vijayan criticised the police for displaying "double standards" by filing non-bailable FIRs against CPM leaders V. Joy, MLA, and Kadakampally Surendran, while failing to register cases under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act against the Youth Congress activists.

The veteran leader further highlighted an incident where a sub-inspector from the Cantonment police station allegedly threatened to arrest the SFI district secretary from the CPM district committee office while invoking Chennithala's name. Vijayan characterised this as "a blatant violation of the Police Act and a challenge to independent political activity."

"In this situation where the police officers, who are responsible for protecting the law, are themselves sheltering the lawbreakers. The home minister should intervene immediately and take strict legal action against the culprits without any compromise," the opposition leader demanded.

The Youth Congress had organised the September 30 march demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The demonstration culminated in violence outside the Kerala University men's hostel, prompting a police lathicharge against the hostel inmates. Youth Congress representatives have maintained that stones and beer bottles were initially thrown at protestors from inside the hostel.