Date:13/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/13/stories/2008101360880300.htm

Kerala - Kochi

Police on trail of fundamentalists Law & order

Staff Reporter

KOCHI: Even though the activities of fundamentalist organisations have gone down in the district following the crack-down in Indore and Bangalore, the police and special branch teams are not relaxing.

The forces have stepped up surveillance of known activists and sympathisers of fundamentalist organisations, to begin with. This process has been initiated across the State.

Pockets in the rural areas were reported to be centres of such fundamentalist activities.

This has made the rural police to start streamlining the information gathering process.

“This is not an isolated operation. Sharing of information between police officials in different districts has also been initiated,” said P. Vijayan, Superintendent of Police, Ernakulam Rural.

With the special team, constituted by the State police to look into the meetings of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) at Panayikulam near Aluva and Wagamon, arresting two, the police seem to have gained the upper hand. Sources at Special Branch said the surveillance is not restricted to SIMI or related organisations.

Incidents like the attack on two churches at Akaparambu near Nedumbassery are also being closely monitored. Organisations like Bajrang Dal are also being put under the scanner as part of the drive.

Except for these, no incidents have been reported in the district recently.

This supports the police argument that fundamentalist organisations are not active here, at least for the time being.

No such activities have been reported from within the city limits as well, despite having many pockets that are communally-marked out. The City Police, in its run-up to the festival period covering Onam and Ramzan, had made some preventive detentions of those known for indulging in communal violence.

More than 10 people were thus detained during the period. “Database of known offenders is being prepared and surveillance is on.

Also, we are acting against persons against whom cases are pending,” said Manoj Abraham, City Police Commissioner.