Question paper leak: KSU march to DGE office turns violent

KSU activists protest against exam paper leak, clash with police, demand action against teachers, and call for minister's resignation.

A march taken out by Kerala Students Union (KSU) activists to the office of the Directorate of General Education (DGE) here on Thursday in protest against the leak of question papers of half-yearly examinations turned violent.

The police resorted to the use of water cannons several times after the protesters attempted to topple the barricades erected in front of the DGE office. The protest turned unruly after the police attempted to detain a few activists, prompting them to regroup to intensify the demonstration.

With the confrontation showing no signs of abatement, the police forcefully removed the protesters. Several activists including KSU State president Aloysius Xavier were arrested and let off on station bail. Traffic along the route also came to a standstill for around an hour with a group of protesters staging a sit-in.

The protesters raised various demands including stringent action against teachers allegedly having links with tuition centres, probing financial transactions behind such nefarious activities, and appointing a special panel to rein in private tuition lobbies.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary M. Liju, who inaugurated the protest, raised doubts over the ongoing probe and demanded the resignation of General Education Minister V. Sivankutty in light of the controversy.