Incidents of stone throwing and vandalism were reported in several parts of the Indian state of Kerala on Friday, leaving at least six bus drivers injured, as the Popular Front of India (PFI) has called for a day-long state-wide shutdown to protest against its members being arrested.
Local media reported that a petrol bomb was hurled at a vehicle carrying newspapers for distribution at the Narayanpara area in the coastal city of Kannur in the morning.
Kerala Police said the lawbreakers will face severe consequences.
Most of schools either remained closed or reported low attendance. Shops have reportedly been closed and transportation suspended, especially in Muslims areas.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court took it upon itself to rule on the calls for a shutdown and subsequent occurrence of violence, stating that the shutdown is banned in the state and destruction of public property cannot be accepted.
PFI members have called the dawn-to-dusk protest against the raids performed by the Enforcement Directorate and National Intelligence Agency (NIA) on Thursday.
Most of the arrests were made in Kerala (22), followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka (20 each), Andhra Pradesh (five), Assam (nine), Delhi (three), Madhya Pradesh (four), Puducherry (three), Tamil Nadu (10), Uttar Pradesh (eight) and Rajasthan (two). By Thursday evening, 18 people were in the NIA’s custody.
PFI decried the NIA’s actions as “witch hunting” against its members and alleged that the investigative agency had made baseless claims to create an “atmosphere of terror”.
The PFI, which was founded after the Students’ Islamic Movement of India was banned, has been under close watch by the authorities over suspicion of promoting a radical ideology among Indian Muslims, and it has faced accusations of forced conversions. Several Indian states have tried to get the organization's activities outlawed.