Kannur: The entry of three women below 50 years into the Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala has reignited the CPM-BJP clashes in Kannur.
As many as 260 people have been arrested in the district in just two days following violence in the district.
Crude bombs were hurled at houses of BJP Rajya Sabha MP V Muraleedharan, CPM MLA AN Shamseer and former Kannur district secretary of CPI(M) P Sasi in Thalassery.
One ASP and three DySPs have been assigned to check violence that erupted after two women below 50 entered the temple on January 2.
The Sabarimala Karma Samiti called a hartal on January 3, triggering violence across the state. The BJP backed the hartal.
Reports that police personnel from Kannur were instrumental in organising the entry of two women to Sabarimala, after their failed attempt on December 24, reportedly led to a surge in violence.
The women, Bindu and Kanakadurga, admitted they received protection from police to visit the hill shrine.
State police chief DGP Loknath Behera said on Saturday the vigil will continue in Kannur and other parts of the state. Enough police personnel have been deployed, he said.
“On Friday night itself, directions have been given to Kannur district police chief to nab people involved in attack on the houses of the political leaders. Police picketing, checking and patrolling have been intensified in the district,” he added.
Thirty-three people are in preventive custody in Kannur alone.
As per the directions of the state police chief a peace meeting was called late on Friday. The meeting was attended by CPM, BJP and RSS leaders.
However, bombs were hurled at the residence of Shamseer while he was attending the meeting in the office of Thalassery ASP.
Kerala has been marred with violence since the afternoon of January 2 after two women – Kanakadurga and Bindu - managed to enter Sabarimala temple. A third women – 46-year-old Sri Lankan woman Sasikala – also entered the temple on Thursday night. Widespread violence was reported during the Sabarimala Karma Samiti hartal on Thursday, leaving several people injured.
Police action
On Thursday, the police had launched 'Broken Window,' a special drive to investigate and take action against perpetrators of violence in the aftermath of the entry of the two women into Sabarimala.
All the district police chiefs have been directed to form special squads to arrest activists indulging in violence.
District special branches have been directed to identify and book party workers who indulged in vandalism.
The state special branch will also secretly investigate and submit the list of the culprits to district police chiefs.
Mobile phones of the suspected party activists would be confiscated and digitally checked. If needed, their houses also would be raided.
A data base of the suspected workers would be kept in every districts for further reference.
A digital team would be created under the district police chiefs and data regarding these would be circulated among police officers.
Protest demonstrations by the BJP and Sabarimala Karma Samiti had turned violent at several places in Kozhikode, Kannur, Malappuram, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram this week in the aftermath of the entry of women into the hill shrine.
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