Kerala Secretariat fire: Police use water cannon to disperse protesters

Police in Thiruvananthapuram used water cannon to disperse workers of Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of BJP, who were heading towards Kerala Secretariat to protest against the fire that broke out at the protocol department of the Secretariat on Tuesday. The workers have alleged that it was a conspiracy to destroy evidence related to a recent gold smuggling case. The Kerala government, on the other hand, suspected a ''conspiracy'' by the opposition in the matter. The Congress demanded an NIA probe while BJP state chief K Surendran courted arrest for forcefully entering the complex after the fire broke out. Meanwhile, the Kerala government has appointed an expert panel to look into the incident and asked it to submit the report within a week, while the crime branch will also probe the matter.