Youth Congress and SFI-linked activists clash in Thiruvananthapuram

A Youth Congress protest march against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was followed by a confrontation with activists linked to the Students’ Federation of India near a university hostel in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday evening. Police entered the hostel area and used batons to disperse people as the clash escalated. Reports described injuries, but a consistent count and severity have not been established. The march was organized to demand Kumar’s resignation. Accounts differ over who initiated the violence: Youth Congress members alleged that stones were thrown from the hostel toward the march, while SFI representatives accused protesters of throwing flaming torches toward the hostel first. The competing allegations have not been independently resolved. Reports said stones and other objects were thrown during the confrontation, and that Youth Congress protesters retaliated with burning torches. Police intervened as the situation intensified, including with a lathi charge inside the hostel area. SFI representatives alleged that police used excessive force against students; the circumstances and extent of injuries remain unclear.