Kerala: One arrested, case against 50 for assaulting police at Kozhikode beach concert

A case has been lodged against 50 persons for attacking the police on Sunday night after it shut down a concert at a beach in Kerala's Kozhikode following overcrowding at the venue. The police has also arrested one person in the matter.

Police said that those who could not be accommodated at the venue as it was full, created a disturbance there and the overcrowding also resulted in barricades around the concert site falling down.

As a result, police were forced to stop the programme which in turn resulted in them being assaulted by some members of the public using stones and beer bottles, a senior officer of Vellayil police station said.

Six policemen and more than 30 members of the general public were injured as a result of the throwing of stones and beer bottles by a section of the crowd, he said and added that additional force had to be called in to control the situation.

The officer said that a case for assaulting police personnel and preventing them from doing their duty has been registered against 50 persons and one of them has also been arrested.

Besides that, a case has also been registered against the event organisers -- JDT College Palliative Care here -- for conducting the event without adequate facilities and not in accordance with the permission granted to them, he said.

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The officer said the college was only permitted to erect stalls and showcase some small cultural shows by students at the beach as part of their charity event to generate funds to buy wheelchairs.

However, they decided to hold a concert and advertised the same via social media platforms and also sold tickets online for Rs 150 per person, police said.

As it was a Sunday, a huge crowd arrived at the beach and many also bought tickets online. But all of them could not be accommodated and after some time the sale of tickets at the venue also had to be stopped, leading to the disturbance, police said.

(With inputs from PTI)