Close on the heels of the arrest of 21 activists of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and seizure of weapons from a suspected arms training centre at Narath here recently, the police on Thursday unearthed weapons, including swords, from the house of a PFI activist in a nearby area under the Mayyil police station limits.
The house of the PFI activist, identified as Kamaruddin, on Kummaayakkadavu Road at Narath was raided on Thursday afternoon. A police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police P. Sukumaran seized four swords, a hatchet, five iron rods, and a ‘nunchaku’ (a weapon used in karate training) in the raid.
Kamaruddin was the owner of a motorcycle found near the building during the raid on the suspected arms training camp on Tuesday. As many as 21 mobile phones were recovered from the motorcycle. The mobile phones, which have been sent for a detailed examination, were apparently devices of the 21 PFI activists who were arrested by the police from the building.
Kamaruddin had fled from the spot that day. The police said that though his house was rented out, one room was still in his possession. The room had a specially arranged attic where the weapons were found.
Search
The raid continued till the evening. Valapattanam Circle Inspector K. Balakrishnan and Mayyil sub-inspector Surendran Kallyadan were part of the team conducting the raid.
The raid was being conducted as part of extensive search operations in the offices of the PFI and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in different parts of the district. The police had raided PFI and SDPI offices here and at Mattannur on Wednesday evening. At Mattannur, activists of the PFI and the SDPI had thrown stones at the police during their march in protest against the police raid on the offices.
A special police team headed by Mr. Sukumaran was investigating the activities of extremist groups in the district. The police said that the activities of such outfits operating under the cover of voluntary organisations would be monitored.
PFI mass stir
The State committee of the PFI, in a statement in Kozhikode on Thursday, alleged that the police were foisting false cases on party workers across the State to show the party in a bad light. The leaders of the organisation said their workers were arrested by the police in Kannur while participating in a physical training programme as part of the ‘Healthy People Healthy Nation’ project.
“The action against the party workers is the handiwork of top officials who have vested interests, and we will launch a mass protest campaign in the State on May 3 to expose the attempt,” they said.
CPI seeks probe
CPI State unit secretary Pannian Raveendran on Thursday called for a comprehensive inquiry into the seizure of arms from Narath.
Mr. Ravindran said there were allegations that the arrested persons had terrorist links.
Steps should be taken to expose forces that were using the youth to disturb peace in the country.
The government should see to it that there were no loopholes in the case that would allow the accused to escape the arms of the law.
