Man held in Nitta Gelatin attack case

The city police on Tuesday arrested a man for his alleged involvement in the attack on the office of Nitta Gelatin India Limited in November last year.

A man identified as Jose was detained by the city police from Kannur. Police said that Jose, who was based in parts of Kannur and Kozhikode, was part of the conspiracy to vandalise the office of the company. “He was not part of the nine-member group that attacked the office, but was an important part of the conspiracy. He was a link between the leader of the group and those who carried out the attack,” said Thrikkakara Assistant Commissioner Bijo Alexander.

Police said that while he was not part of the cadre of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), he was a Maoist sympathiser and worked to further its goals.

Nine masked men vandalised the office of Nitta Gelatin at Panampilly Nagar in November 2014.

They trashed office furniture and computers and distributed pamphlets accusing the company of polluting the environment at its manufacturing locations in the State and neglecting to employ local people. The pamphlets attributed the attack to the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Two men who were allegedly part of the attack were arrested from Palakkad earlier and were questioned by the city police. Police are probing the identity of the seven other attackers and others involved.