Popular Front of India (PFI) leaders who called for a strike in the state in protest of the detention of its members by the National Investigation Agency have become the target of a suo motu case brought by Kerala High Court on Friday.
Notably, as of January 7, 2019, a Kerala High Court judgement prohibits anybody from calling a bandh in the state without giving seven days’ notice. The police were instructed by the court to take “necessary steps to prevent any damage/destruction to public/private property of Government/citizens who do not support the demand for hartal” after taking note of the situation.
The court further stated that “any public utility services that anticipate violence, at the hands of those supporting the unlawful hartal, should likewise be afforded adequate police protection.”
This comes after the dawn-to-dusk strike announced by the PFI on Thursday in response to the arrest of its members during national searches by the National Investigation Agency descended into violence today, with reports of stone-pelting in several states.
The strike, or hartal, began at 6 am and will last for 12 hours until 6 pm.
Following the strike, reports of stone-throwing and demonstrators attacking cars, including KSRTC buses, came in from all around the state.
The highways were desolate and sparsely populated in many other regions of the state this morning.
Stone-throwing events have reportedly occurred across the state, according to the police.
Earlier today, two police personnel were assaulted by hartal sympathizers at Pallimukku in the Kollam district.
