As the nationwide general trade strike enters the second day, the State Bank of India treasury branch near the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram was attacked by pro-strike protestors on Wednesday morning. According to reports, protestors had marched into the branch and smashed glass tables, chairs, computers and television, demanding the branch be closed down. The protestors even manhandled the bank manager for refusing to shut down the branch.
Despite the ongoing two-day general strike observed by workers unions across the country, the SBI branches in the state remained open during both the days. A section of workers reportedly marched into the first floor of the treasury branch and asked officials to shut the branch down the branch before vandalised the building.
A complaint has been filed with the Cantonment police by the bank management.
“We have received the complaint and are going to start investigating the incident. We will check the CCTV visuals from the bank and identify those involved in the attack before registering a case and take necessary action against the culprits,” an official from the Cantonment police station told TNM.
The incident comes right after the Kerala government has decided to promulgate the Kerala Prevention of Damage to Private Property and Payment of Compensation Ordinance, 2019, to prevent damage to private property during strike-related violence.
The two-day general strike was announced by the National Convention of Workers in September to protest against the anti-worker and anti-trade union policies of the Narendra Modi government. In Kerala, normal life was affected as trains from several parts of the state were halted by protestors, who sat in front of the railway tracks during the strike.