Group attacks police station

Malappuram: The National Development Front (NDF) attacked the Kottakkal police station in Kerala early yesterday morning injuring three policemen and destroying 25 vehicles.

The trouble started with the NDF, a mainly Muslim outfit, pelting the police station with stones seeking the release of its leaders who were picked up for interrogation on Wednesday night.

The police said NDF state chairman Abdul Rahman Baqvi and former chairman A. Sayeed were taken into custody and retained at the Malappuram and Kottakkal police stations respectively to question them in connection with the ongoing clashes involving the Muslim outfit and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Tirur.

Yesterday, about 35 NDF workers assembled in front of the Kottakkal police station around 1.30am and demanded that their leaders be let off immediately, the police said, adding they soon began pelting stones at the station.

When police began chasing away the protesters, three policemen suffered injuries in stone-pelting, police said, adding that 25 NDF men were taken into custody in connection with the incident.