Kerala government, on the instructions of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has been making arrangements for the safe return of Malayali students who are currently stranded in Mangaluru, the only city in south India under curfew following violence during the Anti CAA protests.
According to CM's office, the Kerala government has been in talks with the Karnataka government for the safe return of students back home. Discussions were held on an official level with the top administrative brass of Karnataka including the state DGP for the same. Based on these discussions, further actions would be taken for the safe passage of students from Kerala.
Since Thursday, the city of Mangaluru has been under curfew after the deaths of two people in police firing during the Anti CAA protests in the region. As on Saturday, mobile internet services have been disabled in the city and all shops, schools, colleges and commercial establishments barring hospitals and medical shops in the city have been shut down.
Mangaluru is under heavy police protection and those who are on the streets are being asked to identify themselves.
"There was no disturbance to law and order on Friday in Mangaluru. The curfew will be in place till midnight on December 22," Mangaluru Commissioner PS Harsha told reporters on Friday night.
A group of journalists from Kerala were detained by the Mangaluru police for close to 7 hours on Friday. The journalists were asked to sit inside the police van for hours together following which they were taken to the police station and later handed over to the Kerala police.
According to the Mangaluru police, the journalists, who had been covering the post mortem of the two deceased protestors at Wenlock hospital, had not been carrying accreditation cards. However, the detained journalists stated that despite showing their accreditation cards from the Kerala government, the police snatched away their phones and reporting equipment and forcibly detained them. They also said that the police targeted scribes mainly from Kerala.
Several leaders including CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Karnataka AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal also condemned the detainment of the journalists.