With the 13-day session of the Kerala Assembly set to commence on Monday, the city police is geared up to tackle any sort of agitations that could arise in the wake of recent incidents.
The session has been convened in the wake of a recent spate of clashes between activists of the CPI(M) and BJP in various parts of the State, which led to the murder of a RSS functionary at Sreekaryam and many political workers being injured.
Moreover, the arrest of Kovalam legislator M. Vincent a few weeks ago for the alleged rape of a homemaker had triggered a wave of clashes between Congress and CPI(M) activists.
According to City Police Commissioner G. Sparjan Kumar, the deployment scheme that is usually followed when the Assembly session begins will be adhered to. This included positioning of adequate police force near the Assembly and Secretariat premises.
“On a regular basis, around 150 personnel are deployed on the Assembly premises and surrounding places. Additional deployments will be made on the basis of the prevailing law and order situation to face demonstrations. Besides the local police, three or four companies of the Kerala Armed Police Battalion will be deployed as and when required,” he said.
At present, the police have been undertaking picketing and patrolling in problematic pockets, including the places that came under the Sreekaryam, Fort and Karamana police station limits, in the backdrop of recent clashes. Amid the volatile situation, the police are hopeful of restraint in the wake of the recent peace meetings.
Though the police have not decided to impose any specific restrictions on vehicular flow, temporary arrangements could be made to divert traffic away from the Assembly or the Secretariat after agitations are announced. At present, there is no forecast of any major demonstrations.