Koodankulam protest group assaulted

KOCHI: The representatives of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, Pushparayan and Jesuraj, and 20 women accompanying them were attacked by goondas near Tirunelveli Collectorate on their way to attend talks with the Central Government Expert Panel, the Koodankulam Anti-Nuclear Protest Support Group Kerala said in a press statement.The women who offered shield to the PMANE representatives were beaten up and had to be hospitalised. Local Congress leaders were also involved in the attack, the statement said. The organisation has alleged that this was part of the Central Government’s strategy to instigate violence in the hitherto peaceful agitation and thereby suspend the talks. “The attack on the leaders is a strategy to create tension and turn the movement violent. The group has withdrawn from the talks after the incident which gave clear indications of the Central Governments back-door working,” the statementsaid.