PM faced terror threat in Kochi, says DGP

Kerala Police chief TP Senkumar on Tuesday made a shocking revelation that there was a terror threat to PM Narendra Modi during his visit to Kochi last week.

Addressing the media about the mass movement against the upcoming LNG terminal in Puthuvype and subsequent police clampdown on protesters, the DGP said the police acted swiftly on the eve of the PM’s visit and there was no excess.

“We had information about a terror module. During the PM’s visit, we can’t take any chance. So the police removed protesters who were staging a sit-in on the road the PM had to take,” he said. When asked about the terror module, the police chief said that such information can’t be made public. However, he said the some extremist outfits funded the agitation against the LNG plant.

“Protesters tried to block the road from where the PM’s convoy was to pass. They came to the spot in large numbers. Police had no other option but to remove them forcibly,” he said.

Residents of Puthuvypu are on war path against the proposed LPG plant of the Indian Oil Corporation, saying the plant would pose a serious threat to their lives. Delayed inordinately due to mass resistance, the work for the plant had started two weeks ago after getting a nod from Kerala high court and green tribunal.

The CPI, one of the constituents of the ruling LDF, rejected the DGP’s claim. “The police chief is coming out with a new theory to justify excesses on innocent people,” said CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran.