Police in Kerala’s Palakkad district have registered a case against around 15 student activists affiliated with the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) over allegations that they tore up and trampled a photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a college union election campaign.
The incident reportedly took place on October 13 at around 4.30 pm outside MES Kalladi College in Mannarkkad, during the final campaign event for the college union elections, police said.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the students allegedly removed Modi’s photograph, threw it on the ground and trampled on it. The complaint claims that the act was carried out “with the intention of provoking a riot.”
The Mannarkkad police registered the case under Section 192 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with unlawful acts committed with the intention or knowledge that they are likely to provoke a riot.
The case was registered following a complaint by Biju, a local leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), police said.
The students affiliated with MSF and SFI had gathered outside the college as part of the final round of campaigning for the student union elections. The incident reportedly occurred during the closing campaign event, locally known as kottikkalasam.
The allegations against the students are yet to be established.
The incident comes amid heightened political activity surrounding student union elections, where student organisations affiliated with different political parties compete for campus representation.
