Kerala - Kozhikode   

Patrolling intensified in Kozhikode

Staff Reporter

Says the district administration is equipped to handle any crisis

LEAVING NOTHING TO CHANCE: Personnel of the police bomb squad pressed sniffer dogs into service to detect explosives at the Kozhikode railway station following the two blasts that rocked the city on Friday. Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

Kozhikode: District Collector Rachna Shah said the district administration was equipped to handle any crisis in the wake of the bomb blasts at the KSRTC and mofussil bus stations in Kozhikode city on Friday.

Ms. Shah said she was attending a meeting at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital when her office received an anonymous call at noon warning about the explosions. "The police were cooperative in taking timely action.

The blast occurred after the police arrived at the two places," Ms. Shah told The Hindu .

She said that police patrolling had been intensified at bus stations, railway stations and markets in Kozhikode district. Checks at the district borders had also been made stringent. The public have been told to alert the nearest police station about suspicious objects, including boxes and bags, found on roadsides and public places, Ms. Shah said.

"There was absolutely no reason for panic. Country-made bombs had been used for the explosion. More reports are awaited," she said.

Meanwhile, the Kozhikode unit of the Communist Party of India (CPI) has blamed the State Government for its attitude of "leniency towards religious and fundamentalist organisations." This had resulted in the two blasts in Kozhikode city, it said. CPI district secretary E.K.Vijayan said the Government should sternly deal with the anti-social elements who were attempting to create panic among the people.

The Kozhikode District Committee of the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) at a meeting held here on Friday demanded that the Government take immediate action to allay the fears among people.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) district president Chettor Balakrishnan said Kozhikode city had become a hub for terrorist organisations.

He appealed to the Government to conduct proper investigations into the two blasts and bring the culprits to book.

The investigations into the seizure of gelignite sticks from the cloakroom of the KSRTC bus station in January had not yielded any positive results so far, he pointed out.

The district committee of Yuva Janata Dal said the Government should stop taking steps to help the growth of religious and extremists' organisations.

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