Clash between SFI and ABVP leaves five injured; Classes suspended at VTM NSS college

UDIYANKULANGARA: Five students sustained injuries in a clash between Dhanuvachhapuram VTM NSS College students and those from ITI and IHRD. Two individuals with severe injuries were admitted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College after the incident occurred at 3:30 pm on Tuesday.

Following the Dhanuvachhapuram VTM NSS College Union Elections' swearing-in ceremony, ABVP activists marched through College Road and were confronted by SFI activists from IHRD and ITI leading to a confrontation. However, locals intervened diffusing the conflict.

Later, four VTM NSS College students on two bikes were attacked by SFI workers from ITI and IHRD using iron rods. Aromal (19), Jishnu (19), Gokul (19), and Yatu (19), students from the Malayalam and Political Science departments, sustained injuries. They are receiving treatment at Neyyatinkara General Hospital and Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Aromal, with severe head injuries, is being treated in the ICU.

When Dhanuvachhapuram College students learned of the incident and tried to assemble, the police prevented them. Sanjeevan, an IHRD College computer science student and an SFI unit committee member from Vellarada Anchumarangala, is receiving treatment at Karakonam Medical College. Allegedly, ABVP activists injured Sanjeevan's hand during the confrontation, leading to IHRD and ITI students gathering at the college junction. Despite police intervention, SFI members staged a protest by blocking the road, resulting in a clash between violent SFI students and the police. Bikes at the scene were vandalized, and additional police forces were deployed to disperse the students. A significant police presence remains in the area. In response to the incident, the principal announced the suspension of classes at VTM NSS College until Friday.