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.
The Centre has supplied over 1 lakh plastic bullets to security forces to control violent crowds in the Valley.
Besides, it has also supplied PAVA shells , made of pelargonic acid vanillyl amide, an organic compound found in natural chilli pepper, that are more pungent, to increase their effectiveness. The new shells consist of oleoresin, which is more natural and pungent in comparison to the chemical-based PAVA shells.
The larger supply of plastic bullets, considered less lethal than the much-maligned pellet guns, has been made after an extensive trial with a few thousand such bullets, Union home ministry sources said. “As part of the graded response to deal with violent crowds, the plastic bullets are being employed before using pellet guns,” said a home official on condition of anonymity.
A CRPF official said plastic bullets can be fired from a normal AK-47 rifle but in a single shot mode.
Under the graded response, security forces now have various options — tear smoke shells, PAVA shells, rubber bullets that are fired from gas guns, plastic bullets and pellets guns — before they actually resort to firing. Extensive use of pellet guns to quell unrest in the Valley after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani on July 8 last year led to hundreds of cases of eye infection and facial injuries, which often caused partial or full loss of vision. Following the criticism of pellet guns, options like PAVA shells and plastic bullets were explored.
The Centre has made it clear that the use of pellet guns is still an option, though it will be used sparingly.
SUPPLY OF PLASTIC BULLETS, CONSIDERED LESS LETHAL THAN THE MUCHMALIGNED PELLET GUNS, HAS BEEN MADE AFTER AN EXTENSIVE TRIAL