Kannur: A meeting chaired by the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) on Saturday directed the police to register cases and take action in all incidents of election-related violence reported so far in the Payyannur constituency.

The officials stressed that no statements or remarks should be made that personally defame political party leaders or candidates. To restore a peaceful atmosphere, it was decided to increase the number of police pickets and intensify patrolling by deploying additional personnel.

Representatives of various political parties condemned the incidents of violence and assured the authorities that there would be no provocative statements or further incidents in the coming days. The meeting was held at the Payyannur taluk conference hall under the chairmanship of ADM in-charge K Balagopalan.

Camera-equipped vehicles will be deployed in sensitive and potentially trouble-prone areas in the Payyannur and Taliparamba constituencies. Fifteen vehicles from the flying squad used during the elections will be utilised for the purpose. In addition, static cameras will be installed to ensure round-the-clock surveillance of the area.

The meeting was attended by Payyannur DySP R Shaiju, Tahsildar G Suresh Babu, Peringome SHO Mukundan K K, C Sathyapalan (CPI-M), K Jayaraj (Congress), V Kunhikrishnan (UDF candidate), Panakkeel Balakrishnan (BJP), S A Shukkoor Haji (Muslim League), K V Padmanabhan (CPI), P Jayan (Congress-S), K Rajan (Kerala Congress-B) and Sameer P P (RSP).

A series of attacks and acts of vandalism were reported across Payyannur after the assembly polls on April 9. CPM rebel leader V Kunhikrishnan had contested as an Independent with UDF support in the constituency. On Friday night, a car belonging to a panchayat employee was set on fire at Mathamangalam in Eramam-Kuttoor panchayat. A day earlier, another car linked to the campaign of Independent candidate V Kunhikrishnan was torched in Payyannur town. The same night, the compound wall of a Congress supporter was demolished after it was used for campaign graffiti. Kunhikrishnan also alleged that the compound wall of his farmland near Vellur was destroyed in the early hours of Saturday, and a polyhouse inside the property was set on fire.

Meanwhile, in Taliparamba constituency, suspected CPM workers allegedly targeted the offices of the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League, which had backed CPM rebel T K Govindan in the election.