Kerala's University College student stabbed: Accused held, but IUML workers protest against SFI outside state secretariat, police resort to water cannon, tear gas

Workers of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) on Wednesday held a protest outside the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram over the incident in which a student was stabbed at the University College. Reportedly, police used water canons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Akhil Chandran, a third-year student of Bachelor of Arts in political science, was on Friday stabbed twice in the chest by office-holders of the Students Federation of India (SFI). A critically injured Akhil was rushed to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for treatment, where doctors conducted surgery and put him on life support. He was then declared ‘stable’. Chandran, also an activist with the federation, and a few others were harassed by a group of SFI leaders on Wednesday, who had also raised objections against them singing aloud at a hang-out on the campus.

Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) workers held protest outside Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, today over the incident in which a student was stabbed at the University College, on Friday. Police used water canons & tear gas to disperse the protesters. pic.twitter.com/aBu7zB3nWb

— ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2019

On Sunday, four Students Federation of India (SFI) leaders, accused of stabbing Chandran, were arrested after the police had registered a case against more than eight students and issued a lookout notice against SFI office bearers. Two of the main accused have been identified as SFI college unit president Sivaranjith, unit secretary Nazeem, The News Minute reported. The report also said that the SFI dismissed the University College unit of the organisation and issued an apology for the incident after students accused the college’s unit of the federation of functioning like a ‘fascist organisation’. The police also raided Shivranjith’s residence on Sunday, and found four bundles of unused answer sheets of Kerala University, PTI reported. Shivranjith and Naseem are also rank holders in the Public Service Commission exam conducted for selecting civil police officers (CPO) and were expecting posting soon. Protests also broke out on Saturday in the college, which is reportedly a ‘bastion’ of the SFI, when students held demonstrations outside the state Secretariat, alleging that the police failed to immediately arrest the accused who were present on campus after the incident. Kerala higher education minister KT Jaleel ordered an inquiry by the Director of Collegiate Education into the incident, which has sparked concerns over the college becoming a safe haven for “anti-social elements”. The incident also attracted criticism from Congress and BJP leaders in the state.