The district administration and the police found themselves in a tight spot on Thursday as the murder of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker at Dharmadam, near Thalassery, late on Wednesday night and the tense law and order situation during the BJP’s hartal threatened to cast a shadow over the smooth conduct of the State School Arts Festival here.
Both District Collector Mir Mohammed Ali and District Police Chief K.P. Philip were on the road to ensure that Sangh Parivar workers’ protest did not affect the festival and pose any threat to the safety of people, including children, in the venues here. Though tension prevailed in Dharmadam and nearby areas, the situation was now under control, according to the police.
Thalassery Deputy Superintendent of Police Prince Abraham said the police had deployed additional forces in the area in view of the tension.
The Collector convened a peace meeting at 8 p.m. on Thursday. He told The Hindu that the cremation of the body of the slain BJP worker was over and party workers dispersed peacefully. He said the major focus of the district administration now was the safety of the children participating in the school festival.
Police officers said that they were on a high alert in the wake of the outbreak of tension in the district. The escalation following the protest of the BJP workers here against the police’s refusal to permit the funeral convoy to pass through the road where the festival venues are located could have gone out of control but for the intervention of high offiicals.
