Kozhikode collector Snehil Kumar Singh has received an anonymous letter carrying a bomb explosion threat.
The letter which was sent in the name of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) said Kozhikode may witness Kalamassery-model bomb blasts if the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government does not stop hounding them.
“If the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government continues to hound us, Kozhikode will witness an explosion similar to Kalamassery,” the letter said
The Maoists said the government is holding rallies for “foreign terrorists” instead of focusing on the needs of Kozhikode district. The Collector’s office received the letter on Wednesday evening and the same was forwarded to the police
The Nadakkavu police have started investigation to track the source of the anonymous letter. Police officers who examined the letter said the anonymous sender mentioned the name of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Red Flag also in the letter with an intention to create confusion about the source
The threat assumes significance as the state government’s Nava Kerala Sadas is scheduled in Kozhikod on November 25. The Congress is also planning a Palestine solidarity rally in Kozhikode on Novemebr 23.
According to police sources, there were similar threats from militant outfits to former Collector N. Prasanth in 2016. The police had improved security at the Collectorate and the Collector’s camp house following the threat letter. There were also instructions to carry out security screening for people who visit the Collectorate.
The letter comes in the backdrop of recent armed confrontations between Maoists and specialised teams of the Kerala Police in Kannur and Wayanad districts of the state. Last week, two Maoists suffered injuries in a gunfight with commandos of the Thunderbolts unit in the forest at Uruppumkutty near Ayyankunnu near Iritty in Kannur district
The Kerala police Thunderbolt special forces an Special Operation Group(SOG) arrested two Maoists at Periya near Thalappuzha in Kerala’s Wayanad district last week after an exchange of fire
The police detained two Maoists- Chandru and Unnimaya, from the gang of five ultras belonging to the Banasura Dalam of the CPI( Maoist) at a house of a farmer in Chapparam colony at the forest area in Periya near Thalappuzha in Wayanad , after an exchange of fire between the forces and the Maoists.