Kochi Feb 18 PTI A Dalit activist of Twenty20 Kizhakkambalam a political party promoted by a prominent industry group here died at a hospital in Aluva where he was undergoing treatment following the attack allegedly by CPIM workers a week ago police said here C K Deepu had been put on ventilator support at the hospital after he suffered serious head injuries in the alleged attack by the CPIM workers last Saturday over a local political dispute they said It was alleged that CPIM activists brutally attacked Deepu a resident of Harijan Colony in Kizhakkambalam panchayat for participating in lights-off protest organised by Twenty20 against the Kerala State Electricity Board KSEB last Saturday for allegedly opposing a streetlight challenge organised by it at Kizhakkambalam panchayat to replace old street lamps with new ones Kizhakkambalam panchayat is ruled by the Twenty20 The outfit alleged that Kunnathunad MLA P V Sreenijan was behind the KSEBs intervention in the matter Sreenijan a Left MLA rejected the allegations that Deepu was a victim of CPIM attack He claimed that Deepu was suffering from liver cirrhosis and that was the cause of death of the Twenty20 activist The statement of Sreenijan sparked a row with Twenty20 alleging that Deepu was attacked by the goons sent by the MLA Twenty20 activists who gathered in large numbers in the hospital where Deepus body is kept raised slogans against the MLA for carrying out a misleading campaign on the matter Sreenijan condemned the move to brand him as a culprit claiming he had no role in itCPIM has not reacted to the allegations Earlier police had arrested four persons in connection with the attack on Deepu Twenty20 was a charity outfit floated by the Anna-Kitex Group group seven years ago It became a political platform later and won four grama panchayats in the local body polls held in Kerala in 2020 PTI TGB TGB HDA HDA

Thiruvananthapuram Dec 28 PTI Kerala Police on Tuesday said that it would foot the medical expenses of the officers who were injured in Christmas day violence at Kizhakkambalam area of Ernakulam district in which 164 migrant workers of Kitex garments have been arrested A release issued by the State Police Media Centre said that State Police Chief Anil Kant has decided that money already spent by the injured officers on their treatment would be reimbursed It also said that the police will pay for any further treatment required by the officers injured in the violence On Monday during a press conference Kitex MD Sabu Jacob had said that if the government permits it then his company will bear the expenses of the treatment being provided to the injured officers He had however also questioned the police action of arresting 164 of his migrant employees alleging that the step was taken without any evidence and he also claimed that only 13 of those arrested were actual culprits Jacob has alleged that such a large number of company workers were arrested to harm him his business and his political outfit - Twenty20 Police arrested 164 migrant workers from the quarters provided for the labourers inside the Kitex garments industrial complex and till Monday night around 76 of them have been remanded to judicial custody Eight policemen including a Circle Inspector were injured in the violence and subsequently police lodged two cases -- one for the assault on the officers which also includes attempt to murder charges and the other for destruction of police vehicles On Christmas night celebrations by migrant labourers from the north east part of India at Kizhakkambalam turned violent leading to several policemen being brutally assaulted and two police jeeps badly damaged with one set on fire Visuals of the violence which went viral on social media showed a large group of people surrounding the police vehicles climbing on top of them pelting them with stones and then thrashing them with sticks leaving the vehicles in shambles Subsequently after the policemen retreated to safety the workers set fire to one of the vehicles PTI HMP SS SS

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], December 26 (ANI): Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan slammed the Kerala government on Sunday after migrant labourers allegedly attacked policemen at Ernakulam's Kizhakkambalam.

Kochi Dec 26 PTI Christmas day celebrations by migrant labourers from the north east part of India at Kizhakkambalam area of Ernakulam district turned violent leading to several policemen being brutally assaulted and two police jeeps badly damaged with one set on fire police said on Sunday Rural SP K Karthik told the media that two cases have been lodged in connection with the incident on December 25 night and the investigation was going on to identify all those involved in it and to collect evidence It is a long process he added He also said that 8 policemen including a Circle Inspector were injured in the violence and some of them also required surgery but presently their health condition was stable Earlier in the day around 150 workers who are employees of Kitex and residing in a housing camp built for them by the company were taken into custody in connection with the incident Visuals of the violence which went viral on social media showed a large group of people surrounding the police vehicles climbing on top of them pelting them with stones and then thrashing them with sticks leaving the vehicles in shambles Subsequently after the policemen retreated to safety the workers set fire to one of the vehicles Kitex Managing Director Sabu Jacob later told the media over the phone that the workers had brutally assaulted the police officers including a Circle Inspector who had reached the spot to resolve the arguments between two groups of labourers on Saturday night He said that initially the camp security and the supervisors tried to intervene and resolve the issue but they too were assaulted and thereafter the police was called However when the police arrived the uncontrollable workers brutally attacked the officers who were forced to retreat to safety leaving their vehicles behind Jacob said that there was no criminal intent behind what happened and claimed that drugs were brought into the camp and some of the workers were probably under its influence leading to them becoming uncontrollable He said his company would cooperate with the investigation PTI HMP ROH ROH

Kochi Dec 26 PTI Christmas day celebrations on Saturday night by migrant labourers from the north east part of India at Kizhakkambalam area of Ernakulam district turned violent leading to several policemen being brutally assaulted and two police jeeps badly damaged with one set on fire a senior company official said In the subsequent police action around 150 workers who are employees of Kitex and residing in a housing camp built for them by the company were taken into custody in connection with the incident Some police personnel were hospitalised police said without giving the exact number The workers had brutally assaulted the police officers including a Circle Inspector who had reached the spot to resolve the arguments between two groups of labourers on Saturday night the companys Managing Director Sabu Jacob told the media over phone He said that initially the camp security and the supervisors tried to intervene and resolve the issue but they too were assaulted and thereafter the police was called However when the police arrived the uncontrollable workers brutally attacked the officers who were forced to retreat to safety leaving their vehicles behind The two vehicles were then damaged by some of the workers and one of them was also set on fire Jacob said that there was no criminal intent behind what happened and claimed that drugs were brought into the camp and some of the workers were probably under its influence leading to them becoming uncontrollable He said his company would cooperate with the investigation PTI HMP APR APR