Malappuram: A person who was missing during a lathicharge on Tuesday in connection with the agitation against a tar-mixing unit in a granite quarry, was found dead in a well at Edavanna here on Wednesday morning. The victim was identified as Pathapiriyam Keerthiyil Ayyappan, 45. The dead body was found by a housewife as she found a light in the well. Later the body of Ayyappan with the torch switched on was found in the well.
It is suspected that Ayyappan drowned while trying to escape from the site of the lathicharge. The local people also organized a road blockade at Edavanna and also called for a ‘hartal’.
The agitation by local people against the tar mixing unit had turned violent on Tuesday. The agitators had set fire to three trucks that came to the unit with tar mixing equipments. One vehicle was damaged entirely. A large crowd had been waiting on Tuesday at the spot on hearing that the vehicles with the equipment were on the way. The mob got agitated when police made a futile attempt to take the vehicles to the spot with police escort.
An irate mob gathered at the spot on Wednesday morning and prevented the authorities from recovering the body of Ayyappan from the well. It was recovered after the intervention of District Collector T. Bhaskaran. The District collector also agreed to consider a relief package of Rs 25 lakh to the family of the deceased.
Mr T Bhaskaran told DC that the revenue department had decided to cancel the licences of the two quarries in the area until peace was restored. “An ‘all party meet’ would be called on Saturday and the demands would be submitted to the chief minister, he added. “The district administration would also explore the possibilities to release those who were arrested”, he added.
The district administration has also agreed to reimburse the medical expenses of those injured in the agitation.
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