Thiruvananthapuram: In a gross case of security lapse, the Kerala Police department on Friday failed to notice the protest organised by Congress MLAs on Friday at the Police Headquarters in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.
The MLAs were protesting against the lathi charge on Youth Congress workers in the state.
A departmental inquiry has been initiated into the matter.
The gate to the police headquarters were open when 11 Congress workers including MLAs Shafi Parambil, KS Sabarinath reached its premises. The protesters stationed themselves in front of the gate demanding an investigation into the lathi charge on protesters in various districts.
The police department was informed of the incident through media reports. The cantonment SP and Special Branch SP reached the area ten minutes later and arrested the protesters.
Kerala on Thursday had witnessed several incidents of lathi charge amid the growing demand for Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel's resignation. Congress MLA VT Balram was among those injured during the lathi charge in Palakkad.
DYFI protests demand Muraleedharan's resignation
Meanwhile, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) on Friday staged protests across Kerala, demanding Union Minister V Muraleedharan's resignation in the gold smuggling case involving diplomatic baggage.
The DYFI alleged the Union Minister of State for External Affairs was trying to derail the probe into the case.
The protests across the state were held in front of Central government offices.
"In the recent gold smuggling case, V Muraleedharan, the BJP and the BJP-aligned media were trying to establish that the baggage in which the smuggled gold was found was not a diplomatic one," national president of DYFI, the youth wing of the ruling CPI-M, Mohammed Riyas said.
During multiple occasions, Muraleedharan had told the media that the baggage was not a diplomatic one.
The Customs department had on July 5 seized diplomatic baggage with 30 kg of gold worth Rs 15 crore, and has arrested several people including former employees of the UAE Consulate.
The NIA and the Enforcement Directorate are also investigating the case.
