Author: J. S. Bablu
Publication: The Hindu
Date: May 4, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/05/04/stories/2003050402380600.htm
The death toll in Friday's communal
violence on the Marad beach here rose to nine with the recovery of the
body of a youth this morning.
A pall of grief has descended on
the beach and its surrounding areas. The body of Prajeesh (17) was found
near the granite sea wall on the beach.
There was no activity here today
in the wake of the hartal called by the BJP and its feeder organisations
and due to the presence of a heavy police deployment.
Most of the men have fled the area
fearing police raids, while the women have chosen to stay indoors. Prohibitory
orders have been clamped on the Ferook and Beypore police station limits.
The order banning unlawful assembly and carrying of weapons would be in
force for three days since this morning.
Marriage ceremonies have been called
off in a couple of households in the disturbed area. One of the ceremonies
has been cancelled because of the death of the bridegroom in the violence.
The shamiana and chairs arranged for marriage receptions have remained
as indicators of the gravity of the situation.
The police have so far arrested
66 persons in connection with the violence. The police swooped down on
a mosque on Friday night and arrested about 40 persons. They also seized
a cache of deadly weapons including 17 bombs.
The Kozhikode City Police Commissioner,
T. K. Vinod Kumar, said the police were prevented by women from entering
the mosque. The police checked all the three floors of the mosque and arrested
the men and seized blood-stained weapons. They recovered 17 bombs, 10 of
which were found buried in the ground inside buckets, from the mosque premises.
Gelatin sticks were used to make the bombs.
Referring to the orgy of violence,
Mr. Vinod Kumar said the `operation' was very well planned. ``It was an
operation carried out by a well-knit organisation. It was a quick and sudden
attack which was over in 10 minutes. The attack came from a particular
community.''
The District Collector, T. O. Sooraj,
told presspersons that top priority was being given to nab the culprits.
``There have been strict orders from the Chief Minister to put down the
violence. Stringent action would be taken against the culprits without
considering their political and social clout,'' he said.
Eyewitnesses to the violence said
that the criminals came in two groups, one from the direction where the
Araya Samajam office is situated and the other from the opposite side,
from near the Swamy Madhom. The assailants struck quickly. They finished
their job in about ten minutes. The police said only the local people were
involved in the violence and almost all the men wanted in connection with
the incident had been arrested.
The local people, however, said
that outsiders were also involved in it. According to them, a group of
young men who had been hanging around the Beypore area for the last few
days took part in the attack and escaped in a fibre boat before the police
arrived on the scene.
In another development, nine boats,
including three fibre ones, and other fishing boats were partially destroyed
by some miscreants at the Puthiyappa harbour, near here, in the wee hours
of Saturday. The loss on this account was estimated to be around Rs.1crore.
The Puthiyappa Peace Committee has decided to organise a peace march in
the area.
The bodies of the victims were cremated
here this evening. They were taken from the Medical College Hospital here
in a procession amid heavy police security. Twelve persons, including two
women, were still under treatment in the Kozhikode MCH. A strong contingent
of police is remaining in a state of high alert in the area. The Inspector
General of Police (North Zone) Venugopal K. Nair, and the DIG (Thrissur),
Y. Anilkumar, were present throughout the day, supervising the police operation.
