A KSRTC driver in Kerala wears a helmet while driving the bus in order to protect himself from the stone pelting that is going on in the state as PFI calls for whole day hartal. As per reports the incident has happened in Aluva, Kerala.
As per reports almost a dozen KSRTC buses were damaged in stone pelting events recorded in Alappuzha, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Thiruvananthapuram. In Kozhikode and Alappuzha, lorries were also attacked with stones. At Kumarichantha in Thiruvananthapuram, a private vehicle headed for the international airport was attacked with stones.
Kerala police have beefed up security in the state and issued directions to the district police chiefs to ensure law and order after the radical Islamic outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) called for a state-wide hartal on Friday.
The dawn-to-dusk hartal was called by the PFI to protest against the raids in the offices and residences of its leaders and their subsequent arrests on Thursday by the NIA and other agencies for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
A statement issued by the police said stern action will be taken against those who violate the law.
"All the policemen in the state will be deployed for the maintenance of law and order, " the statement said.
Meanwhile, the state-run KSRTC has informed that it will operate as usual.
The transport corproation said special services to hospitals, airports and railway stations will be arranged if necessary and will also seek police protection, if needed.
PFI on Thursday had said a hartal will be observed in the state on September 23 "against the RSS-controlled fascist government's attempt to silence dissenting voices using the central agencies."
The hartal would be held from 6 AM to 6 PM, A Abdul Sathar, state general secretary, PFI, had said in the statement.
