At least 60 people were arrested here Thursday as student activists linked to the opposition clashed with police for a second straight day demanding the resignation of a tainted minister.
Nearly half the arrested were members of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
Thirty-six people were later released.
Police arrested 30 activists in the morning, saying they did not seek permission to take out a rally that had disrupted traffic.
In the evening, police barged into a college and took away 30 more students. They said the students had burnt down a government vehicle and hurled stones at them from inside the campus.
Stella Fernandes, acting principal of Government Arts College where the arrests were made, said police officials had been told the arrested students were not involved in the protests.
Clashes also took place Wednesday outside the Kerala assembly after the opposition walked out protesting the presence of Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty, who has been linked to a sex scandal.
Later Wednesday, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy came under fire from his own Congress legislators for not taking action against the tainted minister.
"There is no doubt that Chandy did give a new face to governance through several innovative policies after taking over from (A.K.) Antony," a party leader told IANS.
"But now he appears to be caught in the scandal involving Kunhalikutty. The sooner something is done, the better it is for the party," he said.
--Indo-Asian News Service