Intelligence report cites threats to PM, Kerala on high alert
By Express News Service KOCHI/T'PURAM: A leaked intelligence report on possible security threats during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kerala on April 24-25, coupled with a letter received at the BJP state headquarters threatening a suicide bomb attack on the PM, on the lines of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination, have sent the state police into a tizzy. Though the letter turned out to be a hoax, the police sounded a high alert.
"We are not taking things lightly. Security arrangements have been beefed up. More than 2,000 police personnel will be on security duty.
Besides, state police chief Anil Kant and ADGP intelligence have reviewed the arrangements," said Kochi Commissioner K Sethu Raman. The police intelligence report said the presence of Muslim fundamentalists and Maoists among the migrant labourer population poses a serious security risk.
Flex boards of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's'Yuvam 2023' programme being displayed on thepillars of the Kochi Metro | T P Sooraj
The letter received at the BJP office a week ago was written in Malayalam and issued in the name of N J Johny, a resident of Kaloor, Kochi. His name is mentioned as Joseph John in the letter, which also contained his contact number.
The police verified Johny's handwriting and found no match. After Johny suspected the role of a church committee member who nursed a grudge against him, police questioned the latter. The leaked intelligence report by ADGP T K Vinodkumar, cautioned against the Popular Front of India (PFI), which was banned recently, posing a threat to the Prime Minister considering the strong presence of the outfit in the state.
The report also mentions the potential threat from other Muslim fundamentalist organisations, such as the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and the Welfare Party. It further highlights the presence of the Maoist cadre in Kerala and the possibility of retaliation against the backdrop of action taken by the Centre to decimate them. Tighten security for PM visit: BJP to the police chief
"Threat from other Muslim fundamentalist organisations has to be closely watched. Communist Party of India (Maoist), operating in Kerala, also poses a grave security threat to the visiting Prime Minister in the wake of successful operations against them by the central government security forces in coordination with other state governments, which resulted in the elimination of many Maoist cadres," the report said. It says the presence of migrant labourers, especially from Maoist- or insurgent-affected and Northeastern states, also poses a security threat.
The Maoist cadres have migrated to Kerala in the garb of guest labourers. Sightings of Maoists have been reported in Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode Rural, Wayanad, and Kannur, and these have of late been showing an increasing trend, it said. The report suggests that the government should closely monitor the activities of radicalised Keralite youth who have joined jihadist groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat Nusra in the Gulf region.
The report also mentions the political rivalry between CPM and BJP-RSS activists in the state and the general unrest among student organisations against the central government. It emphasises the need to collect advanced intelligence regarding agitations, demonstrations, or plans for black-flag protests by rival political parties. Meanwhile, the BJP state committee has asked the DGP to tighten security for the PM's visit.
The Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, blamed the state home ministry for the leak of the security report.
He alleged that the chief minister is responsible and answerable for the lapse.
State police chief Anil Kant convened a high-level meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday that decided to redraw the security plan.