Kasaragod: A DYFI worker was arrested on Thursday, September 10, in connection with the alleged assault of KSU Kasaragod district president Javad Puthur at Government Higher Secondary School, Chayyom, while Nileshwar police registered a counter-case against Javad and three KSU workers based on a complaint by an SFI activist.

Chayyom in Kinanoor village, where the school is located, is considered a CPM stronghold.

On Wednesday, the school permitted KSU and SFI, the student outfit of the Congress and the CPM, to organise conventions on the campus, ahead of the school elections.

According to the complaint by KSU, Javad and KSU workers Athul Ram and Rasiq were attacked by DYFI and CITU workers after Javad reached the school for the KSU convention.

Javad and two other KSU workers sustained injuries in the incident and were admitted to a private hospital in Kanhangad.

Javad alleged that the attackers followed Javad to a mosque opposite the school and assaulted him there. His car's mirror was allegedly damaged, and his phone was snatched and smashed, according to the complaint.

Based on the complaint, Nileshwar police booked 12 people, including DYFI, SFI and CITU workers, for culpable homicide, assault, criminal intimidation, riot, and unlawful assembly.

A DYFI worker, Shibin (25), of Chayyom, was arrested on Thursday. Police are searching for the other accused.

In a counter-complaint, Akshath S Bharath (17), an SFI activist and student of the school, alleged that Javad and three KSU workers entered the SFI unit convention being held on the campus and assaulted him and his friend Salif.

The complaint says Javad, Rasiq, Akshay and Athul Ram beat the students with their hands and a wooden stick and kicked them. Nileshwar police registered a case of assault under BNS.

DCC president P K Faisal condemned the alleged attack on Javad and other KSU workers, describing the violence as an attempt by CPM and DYFI workers to use physical force to disrupt democratic elections.

The District Congress Committee organised a protest meeting against the assault at Chayyom on Thursday.