The Hindu : Kerala News : Government to take legal action against culprits

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Thursday, Mar 17, 2005

Kerala

Kerala

Government to take legal action against culprits

By Our Staff Reporter

The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, consoling the family of the slain RSS worker Ashwni Kumar at Punnad, near Iritty, in Kannur on Wednesday.

KANNUR, MARCH 16. The Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, has said that the Government will take effective legal measures against those involved in the murder of the RSS worker, T. Ashwini Kumar, and the incidents of violence that followed in Iritty and nearby areas.

Talking to reporters here today after visiting the family of the slain RSS activist at Meethale Punnad and shops and houses in the area destroyed in the violence that followed the murder, Mr. Chandy said the killing and the incidents that followed in Iritty, Mattannur and nearby areas were `unfortunate.'

"The murder and subsequent incidents have inflicted a wound on the cultural traditions of the State. Even after all the losses suffered due to the violent incidents are compensated, this wound will remain as a disgrace,'' the Chief Minister said.

Talks soon

He said all political parties and social organisations should come together to ensure that such incidents would not recur. The Government would initiate discussions with the parties and the organisations, he added.

Mr. Chandy said he had already heard pleas for compensation for the victims of the violence in the areas. Political party leaders here had also raised the demand for compensation. He said he would take a decision in this regard after discussing the matter with his colleagues (in the Cabinet).

Asked about the complaints against the police in anticipating and checking violence in the areas, the Chief Minister said the police could act properly if all sections of the people cooperated. Stating that all aspects that led to the sensitive situation in the areas following the murder had to be examined, Mr. Chandy said the Government would look into the complaints against the police.

Crime Branch probe

He said the Government had initiated a special investigation by the Crime Branch team led by the Crime Branch SP, Mathew Polycarp, into the murder and subsequent incidents. There would not be any delay in the investigation, he said.

To another question about the Sangh Parivar's demand for banning the National Development Front (NDF), the Chief Minister said isolating religious extremist and fundamentalist organisations was more effective than banning them. Extremism should not be encouraged, he said.

Mr. Chandy, who reached here in the early hours of the day, began his tour of the trouble-torn areas from 7 a.m. Local RSS leaders met the Chief Minister at the residence of Ashwini Kumar. After the hectic tour, he reached the Guest House and met political party leaders and officials. He boarded an Indian Air Force helicopter from the Defence Security Corps Centre helipad here at 12.30 p.m. and left for Kochi airport from where he would board a flight to Thiruvananthapuram.

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