The Hindu : CB likely to probe Marad violence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 04, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

CB likely to probe Marad violence

By Biju Govind

KOZHIKODE MAY 3. The Crime Branch Special Investigation Group (SIG) is likely to be given the charge of investigations into the violence that claimed nine lives and injured several others on the Marad beach here.

The top brass of the police force is considering a proposal to hand over the investigations to the special team of officers to ascertain whether any extremists groups were involved in the incident.

The Director General of Police, K.J. Joseph, and the North Zone Inspector General of Police, Venugopal K. Nair, had already held talks in this regard on Saturday. A final decision would be taken at a high-level meeting convened by the Chief Minister, A.K. Antony, here tomorrow.

The police have already confirmed that the attack on a particular community could be the handiwork of a closely-knit group operating in the State. Only a thorough investigation by a specialised team would bring to light the real culprits behind the incident.

So far, the police have taken into custody 66 persons in connection with the incident. A majority of the accused were nabbed following raids conducted at a place of worship at Marad. A large cache of deadly weapons was also seized. Seventeen bombs, including 10 of them buried on the premises, were also recovered in the raids.

The recovery of gelignite sticks ( a high explosive made from a gel of nitroglycerine and nitrocellulose in a base of wood pulp and sodium or potassium nitrate), normally used for rock-blasting, has also strengthened the suspicion among the officers that the violence was designed by some extremists outfits.

The bombs were manufactured by experts from elsewhere and were to be employed in case of a large-scale rioting on the beach. This meticulously planning by the organisation might have led to the failure of the Intelligence agencies, according to police sources.

The police had collected enough evidence on the pivotal role of the `extremists' attached to the National Development Front (NDF) and the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS) in the communal conflagration last year, which claimed five lives.

It was proved that the strong presence of these organisations in the highly volatile coastal belts of Kozhikode and Malappuram districts had led to the riots.

The police strongly believe that the violence witnessed yesterday were to avenge the killings in the last riots.

So the role of any extremist organisation being hand in glove with any political party could not be ruled out, police sources said.

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