The Hindu : Front Page : Growing presence of extremist elements in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Growing presence of extremist elements in State

G. Anand

Thiruvananthapuram: The death of two reported Indian Mujahideen from Kerala in an encounter with the Army in Kashmir’s Lolab Valley on Tuesday, close on the heels of the arrest of two suspected activists of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) near Thrissur on Monday and reports of recent clandestine activities of the banned organisation in some parts of Kerala, including Wagamon in Idukki and

Panayikulam near Kochi, seems to be a pointer to the growing presence of extremist elements in the State.

Official sources said a group of five terrorists had attempted to cross over to Pakistan. Two were killed, while three, all men suspected to be from Malappuram district, escaped. The encounter took place in the Devi Mergi locality. Counter-insurgency forces in Kashmir found a photograph-imprinted identity card mentioning the name of one Shakil Ahmed, ‘383 Chowk Kovalam,’ on the body of a 26-year-old suspected terrorist who was killed along with another person in an encounter with elements of the elite 9 Para Commandos of the Indian Army in the Lal Pura police station limits. The sources said he was possibly the first Indian Mujahideen to be killed in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir. According to them, an AK-47 assault rifle and 35 rounds were recovered from the suspect.

They said the mountainous and forested localities of Lal Pura, Dhar Pura and Tiki Pura were among the most notorious terrorist-infested areas in the insurgency affected State. It was in one of these areas that Captain Harshan, who hailed from the capital city, of the elite Second Para Commandos was killed in a fight with terrorists in March last year. The State police said the address on the identity card recovered from the suspected terrorist was that of a man hailing from Parappanangadi in Malappuram district and not from Kovalam. They said they had contacted him and he was very much alive. The person had worked in the Gulf for a long time and was nearing middle age. The police suspect that the ID card recovered in Kashmir was a forged one. The police said that there are two Kashmiri traders of the name Shakil Ahmed at Kovalam. One is Shakil Ahmed Shah and the other is Shakil Ahmed Kathana. They said Shah was in Kashmir for a short visit.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page