Kerala health minister Veena George suffered neck and hand injuries after she was attacked during a Kerala Students Union (KSU) protest in Kannur.
The incident took place at the Kannur Railway Station, from where she was to board a Vande Bharat train after the inauguration ceremony of the International Ayurveda Research Institute.
How it happened
This comes after a Muslim Youth League worker—identified as its District General Secretary Shajeer Iqbal—was beaten after he waved a black flag at Veena George in Peringome, just after she had inaugurated a Taluk Hospital building there.
#WATCH | Kannur: Kerala Health Minister Veena George sustained injuries to her neck and hand during a KSU (Kerala Students' Union) black flag protest at the Kannur Railway Station. The incident occurred near the ticket counter when the minister arrived to board the Vande Bharat… pic.twitter.com/0hvacLlmLt
— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2026
Although the police tried to intervene, they were allegedly unable to stop about ten CPM workers from attacking Iqbal. A while later, they finally managed to take an injured Iqbal to the hospital.
In protest against the assault on Iqbal, KSU workers launched an intense protest against George at the railway station, in addition to black flag protests in various parts of Kannur, such as Irikkur, Thalassery, Chalode, and Ayippuzha, by Youth Congress and Muslim Youth League workers.
"If the black flags are for the changes brought into the health sector, then I accept them as flower garlands. At least they are not throwing stones," George said, in response to the protests, as per a Manorama Online report.
However, it was at the railway station that the Youth Congress protests demanding her resignation really intensified. As she attempted to board her Vande Bharat train, a horde of protesting Youth Congress workers rushed at her. Speaker A.N. Shamseer, who was also reportedly present there at the time, confirmed the story to the media.
In the clash that ensued between the police and the workers, the health minister suffered neck and hand injuries before the police managed to push away the protesters. Many of them were later arrested by the police.
