TMMK factions fight it out in Mannadi, policeman injured

Since a constable suffered injuries while trying to stop violence, police are mulling a separate case. Videos of the clash on Angappa Nayakkan Street, circulated on WhatsApp on Wednesday, show hundreds of men attacking each other with sticks and stones. In one of the videos, a watercan thrown by the agitators fell on a constable and the patrol vehicle. North Beach police have registered separate cases based on complaints from both factions — led by Jawarihullah and Hyder Ali.

Police have booked Thuraimugam Meeran, Anwar Niyamath, Jober Sadiq, Ayub Khan and Thamim Ansari of Hyder Ali’s faction and 14 others including Salim Khan and Zakir Hussain under various sections of IPC. Police said the contention between the two factions is over Hyder Ali’s faction erecting a banner at TMMK headquarters, while Jawahirullah’s faction claims theirs is the real TMMK. On Tuesday night, Jawahirullah’s men, allegedly accompanied by police, unleashed an attack and tore the banner at Hyder Ali’s office. Hyder Ali’s faction argues that Jawahirullah is only part of TMMK Trust and not the outfit, which was registered in 2015 under the Societies Act and renewed in 2021. When contacted, police said an investigation is on and that no arrest has been made yet.