Malappuram protest was waiting to explode anytime

Kozhikode: Residents on the warpath against illegal quarrying in the Edavanna region were shocked to hear on Wednesday morning that one of the agitators had drowned in a well.

They believe the causality would have been higher as the police had acted with vengeance. Though many were left injured, they were not ready to come in the open fearing legal action.

Action Council leader Hudaif Kampalavan told DC that it was part of a series of protests against illegal quarrying. Mr Kampalavan was arrested and hospitalised after he started an indefinite hunger strike two weeks back.

"We started the agitation as early as 5 am on information that the tar and concrete mixing equipment were being transported to the spot in trucks," he said.

"There were a large number of women and children as the quarrying units have been wreaking havoc in the region."

The police, he said, was arresting and torturing protesters the previous night, triggering massive protests on Wednesday.

"We suspect that the Vandur circle inspector K. C. Babu has been acting like a goon of the quarry mafia unleashing the attack on protesters including women and children," he alleged.

"We suspect that local legislator P.K. Basheer also is colluding with the quarry and contractor lobby."

Mr Basheer who resides just few meters away from the spot was conspicuous by his absence during the agitation. Meanwhile, the body of Ayyappan who suspectedly fell in a well while running away from the police, was handed over to relatives after conducting a postmortem.

A daily labourer, he was not an active worker of any political party or a staunch supporter of the agitation, police said. They say the lathi-charge was aimed at avoiding untoward incidents. Police tried to disperse the violent mob after three vehicles were set ablaze.