The confrontation followed a hartal called by the Congress to protest Thursday’s police action against its leaders and Kerala Students’ Union (KSU) activists after violence erupted over the college union election at CKGM Government College, Perambra.

Police used tear gas and resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Visuals aired on TV channels on Saturday showed Parambil being hit by police lathis on the head during the incident. He reportedly underwent surgery at a private hospital here for injuries to his nose.

Senior Congress leaders M K Raghavan and Mullappally Ramachandran slammed the police action against Parambil.

Raghavan, the Congress MP from Kozhikode, termed the incident as an example of police brutality towards a peaceful rally. “Shafi and other UDF leaders were cruelly assaulted. He was attacked while he was trying to defuse the situation,” he claimed.

Ramachandran, a former KPCC chief, said the attack on Parambil cannot be viewed lightly as it is not the first time he has been assaulted. “This is unacceptable. We strongly condemn it. There will be statewide protests against this,” he said.

He also alleged that the assault on Parambil was intended to divert public attention from the Sabarimala gold issue and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) proceedings against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s son.