A large number of fisherfolk and priests including the archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum have been booked on charges like attempt to murder, rioting and conspiracy after the protest against Adani’s Vizhinjam seaport project in Thiruvananthapuram witnessed violence on Saturday.

Hundreds of protesters had forced 25 trucks carrying rocks to the project site to turn back and allegedly prevented another 25 trucks, stranded at the project site, from leaving the premises. A counter-protest by supporters of the seaport then got into an argument with them, leading to stone-throwing that injured several people from both sides and a few policemen.

Archbishop Thomas J. Netto and several other priests who were not present at the protest site have been booked in an FIR on conspiracy charges.

Many others who were present during the protest — including Eugine H. Pereira, vicar-general of the Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum that is leading the protest — have been charged with offences ranging from rioting to attempt to murder in nine FIRs.

Father Theodacious D’Cruz, one of the priests coordinating the protest that started on August 16 outside the under-construction seaport, told The Telegraph on Sunday that 95 people, most of them fisherfolk, had been named in the nine FIRs.

“They have booked us on charges like attempt to murder, rioting, trespass and obstructing government servants from discharging their duty,” the priest, who was present at Saturday’s protest, said.

“They had already (earlier) slapped a number of cases on us since we began the protest. But let the government realise that we will not back down.”

The protesters blame the project for coastal erosion that has destroyed the homes and livelihood of at least 335 fishing families, and have sought stoppage of further construction as well as rehabilitation for the displaced, among other demands. These families have been roughing it in a godown for over four years.

Construction at the Rs 7,525-crore project has stopped since August 16, when the sitin began. Kerala High Court, after considering pleas from Vizhinjam Adani Port Pvt Ltd and the contractor, Howe Engineering Projects (I) Pvt Ltd, recently directed the protesters not to obstruct construction activities.

D’Cruz accused Kerala’s Left government of colluding with the Adanis to sabotage the protest by booking the protesters in cases, but warned that the fight would continue.