Zeroing in on those who allegedly vandalised public property and targeted traders during the Sangh Parivar-sponsored hartal on January 3, the police have started assessing the loss caused by each arrested person in Kozhikode district.
The estimated amount will be recovered from the accused on the directive of the State Police Chief.
Police sources said the bank account details as well as other assets of the accused would be assessed. Any failure on the part of the accused to compensate for the loss will invite legal measures, including freezing of bank deposits and attachment of property, they added.
In Kozhikode district, the police have prepared separate lists of property loss in city and rural areas. Preliminary estimates fixed a total loss of ₹3 lakh in the district, of which ₹1.63 lakh was estimated in Kozhikode city alone. The total loss in similar incidents across the State was close to ₹1 crore.
In Kozhikode district, the ₹3-lakh loss was estimated on the basis of 14 incidents of vandalism. Incidentally, traders on S.M. Street who kept their shops open on the hartal day suffered maximum loss.
Around nine shops in the area had come under attack from hartal supporters.
According to traders, a government compensation or timely recovery of penalty from the accused alone will enable them to recover.
They also welcomed the move of the police—the first time in the history of the State—to assess the damage caused by each individual and recover compensation from them.
Meanwhile, some traders in Kozhikode city have decided to move the court to claim compensation. They said criminal suits would be filed in civil courts. Police sources said several complaints had come from Kollam district where 26 vandalism cases were registered. The total loss in the Kollam rural area alone was around ₹17 lakh, they added.
A Circle Inspector in charge of the investigation into the hartal violence said the police had already gathered CCTV visuals of all the suspected attackers for quick follow-up action, and that most of them had already been identified for loss recovery.
In Kozhikode district alone, 400 persons have been arrested. The police said as many as 140 cases covering city and rural areas had been registered. They also confirmed that all the arrested were not involved in acts of vandalism.
