Student death protests: Kerala Secretariat gate turns into battle zone

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Secretariat's main gate in the heart of the state capital turned into a battle zone on Wednesday as workers of various organisations clashed with the police and protested there against the recent death of a student of the Kerala Veterinary University in Wayanad district.

Workers of the Congress, its youth and women's wings, students unit of the IUML and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) marched to the Secretariat here and laid siege to its gate in front of the MG Road here.

Initially activists of IUML's student wing, Muslim Students Federation (MSF), protested in front of the barricades set up in front of the secretariat and then blocked half of the MG Road in front of it.

Later, they clashed with the police personnel deployed there.

Soon, they were joined by the activists of the Youth Congress and Mahila Congress and AAP workers and the protestors, many of them women, shouted slogans of "go back" at the police.

As per visuals of the multi-organisation protest, police resorted to use of water cannons and lathis a few times to disperse the crowd, but it was not successful.

Many women were also seen climbing atop the barricades set up in front of the Secretariat's main gate.