70 buses damaged in violence, corporation suffered Rs 45 lakh loss: KSRTC

The Kerala government and the KSRTC on Friday informed the Kerala High Court that 70 KSRTC buses were damaged in the hartal called by the Popular Front of India (PFI) and subsequent violence in the state.

The state-run public transport corporation submitted before the High Court that it suffered a loss of Rs 45 lakh due to the damages suffered due to the stone pelting and violence during the dawn-to-dusk hartal called by the PFI.

Justice Devan Ramachandran asked the corporation whether this loss will be recovered from those who held the hartal.

He also said that law was being violated due to lack of fear in the law enforcement system.

The court asked the government to submit the steps taken by it in the incident.

Multi-agency teams spearheaded by the NIA had arrested 106 functionaries of the PFI on Thursday in near simultaneous raids at 93 locations in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

Kerala, where PFI has some strong pockets, accounted for the maximum number of 22 arrests, officials said.

PFI state president C P Mohammed Basheer, national chairman O M A Salam, national secretary Nasaruddin Elamaram, former chairman E Abubacker and others were among those arrested.