Disturbed by frequent communal clashes in Kasaragod district, the Kerala State Commission for Minorities has asked the Kasaragod Collector and the District Police Chief to report to the commission on these incidents.
Commission chairman P.K. Haneefa told The Hindu that the Collector and the police chief had been asked to turn in a detailed report on the clashes in the sensitive district over the past five years. He had sought the report invoking Section 12 of the National Commission for Minorities Act.
He said media reports showed an increasing trend in such clashes in the recent times and that the latest was the murder of a madrasa teacher allegedly by RSS workers. Ten people had been murdered and scores were injured in the district during the period. Houses and shops were damaged too.
He said that it seemed in many cases the culprits were slapped with minor or frivolous crimes and hence were let off the crimes they had committed. The conviction rate also seemed to be very low.
Mr. Haneefa said that Collectors and district police chiefs in communally sensitive districts were supposed to hold monthly meetings to take stock of the situation. He has asked the Kasaragod authorities to give details of such meetings in the past six months.
