Sabari protest: Cops to hunt down perpetrators of violence

Thiruvananthapuram: The state police will launch a crackdown to nab all those who unleashed violence at Sabarimala to prevent the entry of women.
After meeting chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday, state police chief DGP Loknath Behera gave a set of instructions to SPs to nab all perpetrators of violence at Sabarimala, including those who were spreading communal and hate messages using social media. Behera also convened a meeting of senior officers in the capital to discuss the situation.

In the internal message sent to all SPs (accessed by TOI), Behera asked district police chief of Pathanamthitta to constitute a special team and collate a photo album and repository of all activists and miscreants who created problems recently at Sannidhanam, Pamba and Nilackal over the next 24 hours. The repository will be then transferred to all district police chiefs (DPC) to identify and arrest culprits.

“DPCs will ensure that a special team is formed in every district to arrest the accused who participated in illegal and violent activities at Nilackal and Sabarimala. The special branches in the districts should be activated and activists and miscreants who were mobilized and sent to Sabarimala should be identified and brought to book,” the message stated. Police have already registered 150-odd cases across the state in connection with Sabarimala violence.

Now, police have begun identifying those who unleashed violence at Nilackal on October 17. Senior police officers said that they are in the process of identifying around 400 persons who were part of the attack. Police compiled a photo album of nearly 200 people on Wednesday. Sources said that the accused had camped in the area a day ahead of the temple opening. They now suspect a criminal conspiracy behind the incident.

Every district should maintain a separate database for all such criminals and keep them under watch for future, Behera said. The message further said that state special branch should conduct inquiries and give a list of troublemakers to concerned DPCs. The mobile phones of all the accused and suspects should be seized and subjected to digital examination. Behera also asked all SPs to conduct searches in their local premises for weapons and documents.

The DGP asked all SPs to separately deal with hate and communal messages being circulated on social media about Sabarimala. “Each district should register a minimum of two criminal cases for such campaigns in social media and arrest persons who have posted or shared them to breach public order. It should also be seen if any group of policemen have instigated or spread such posts as alleged by the media. If detected, stringent criminal and disciplinary action should be initiated against them,” read the message.

Also, SPs have been asked to firmly deal with the media cells functioning in all districts with fake IDs, who are responsible for all ‘poisonous postings’ on social media. Cyber cells should be activated and these should be identified and booked under the IT Act, the police chief said.

He also instructed the SPs to identify and investigate the vehicles hired/used to transport the accused to Sabarimala. Range IGs will be responsible for monitoring and supervising the activities of DPCs.

Even before the women entry issue cropped up, police had advised the government to impose strict restrictions on stay of pilgrims atop Sabarimala as basic infrastructure was damaged in floods. With the recent spell of violence, police have decided to press the demand further so that restrictions are in effect during mandala season.