Hartal partial in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram: The dawn-to-dusk hartal called by BJP was partial in the capital with several four-wheelers and buses plying throughout the day on Thursday. KSRTC operated its Ananthapuri and inter-state bus services from morning based on the passengers’ requirements earlier in the day. KSRTC operated services to Medical College and RCC. Wholesale markets in the city and fish markets such as Edapazhanji functioned, though with lesser footfall.

Though protesters waylaid some interstate buses at Neyyattinkara and Thampanoor, the services were quickly resumed after police intervention. At Neyyattinkara, around 111 BJP workers including 100 unidentifiable persons were booked under Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act for destroying a road divider. A car belonging to Manesh, a CPI worker who recently defected from BJP, was vandalised by hartal supporters.

Stones were pelted on a truck that was carrying sound system and fans for the chief minister's meeting at Ulloor. BJP workers engaged in a minor skirmish with police at Mepookkada near Malayinkeezhu alleging vandalism of local party office by CPM men. The companies at Technopark and VSSC conducted vehicle services for their staff on a convoy basis. A handful of auto rickshaws operated and served as a feeder system to them. Fuel pumps including the Supplyco-run outlets remained closed.

Police makes no headway in attack cases

Police has failed to make any headways in the case of attack on the BJP office at Tutor's Lane here. In fact, city police officials told DC that they have not even made any progress in a similar case where country bombs were hurled at the BJP Kunnukuzhy  office September 7. Meanwhile, the CPM district leadership alleged that BJP cadres themselves might have attacked their own office to play the victim's card.

The Cantonment Police has not yet identified suspects who hurled country bombs into BJP's Kunnukuzhy office. "We couldn't get clear footage of attackers in both the cases," a senior police official engaged in the investigation told this paper. "In the Kunnukuzhy case, we zeroed in on a few suspects belonging to various political groups, after observing their mobile phone signals. But their alibis checked out," said a senior police official. CPM district secretary Anavur Nagappan on Thursday alleged that a BJP worker had posted a Facebook post about the attack on the BJP office even before the attack took place. But from the screenshots of the said post, it’s not clear which attack was the post referring to.