Clashes have erupted in Thiruvananthapuram after the results of the Kerala University Union elections were announced, with SFI leaders alleging that KSU activists attacked a victory procession taken out by the Left student outfit after its sweeping win in the polls, police said on Tuesday.
The confrontation began during the SFI celebration march near the university area on Monday night.
According to SFI leaders, KSU workers allegedly hurled stones at the procession and damaged a police vehicle.
However, police alleged that SFI activists threw stones and sticks at KSU workers, while around 20 KSU activists reportedly retaliated by throwing stones back.
Registering an FIR against 10 identifiable SFI workers and 40 others, police alleged that during the stone-pelting carried out by SFI activists, the left arm bone of an SHO was fractured near the elbow, while other police personnel also sustained injuries. They were shifted to various hospitals.
As tensions escalated and clashes spread onto the streets, police used water cannons and carried out a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.
The Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M), retained its dominance in the Kerala University Union by winning 35 of the 37 seats.
The Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student outfit of the Congress, won two seats in the election.
The celebrations later spilt outside the campus and turned tense, prompting a heavy police presence in the area.
Rajya Sabha MP and DYFI leader A A Rahim, who reached the spot after the clashes, alleged that KSU activists carried out a "planned attack" after the SFI procession had ended peacefully and media personnel had left the area.
He claimed that several SFI workers, including women activists, were injured in the stone-pelting.
Rahim also criticised the police action, alleging that officers used force against SFI protesters who were staging a sit-in on the road instead of taking action against those responsible for the violence.
Police said repeated warnings were issued asking the protesters to disperse, but the SFI activists allegedly refused to leave.
Following this, tear gas and water cannons were used against them.
Police alleged that SFI activists damaged the front windscreen of a police vehicle by pelting stones, causing an estimated loss of around Rs 30,000 to the Kerala government.
The protesters blocked the road, following which a lathi charge using "necessary force" was carried out to disperse them, police said.
The accused are also alleged to have obstructed police personnel from carrying out their lawful duties and to have continued the protest till around 11.30 pm.
Police further alleged that the protesters used stones and pieces of wood in their possession to attack police officers and acted together with a common intention, thereby committing offences.