The Hindu : Kerala News : Search on for clues on attack on outlet Law & order

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Kerala

Search on for clues on attack on outlet Law & order

The police suspect some extremist organisations behind the attack on a retail outlet, writes Biju Govind.

The police are still searching for clues in the case of an attack on a retail outlet at Chakkorathukulam on Kannur Road on November 24. Investigating officers attached to the Nadakkavu police station suspect that an extremist organisation with the support of some traders’ organisation might have carried out the operation. The incident cannot be classified as any organisation “striking at will.” But the police are viewing the attack seriously since they di d not rule out the possibility of the recurrence of such attacks in the city.

On Saturday a group of persons attacked the 2,000-sq.ft Spencer’s Daily outlet of the RPG Group on the ground floor of Elite Arcade at around 6.30 p.m. Unidentified persons carried out the attack during a power failure. Over 20 glass panels of the store were smashed to pieces with iron rods. There were several customers inside the outlet at the time of the attack. The Spencer’s Daily employs over 50 people in different shifts. Fortunately, there were no casualties.

Eyewitness said the eight persons emerged at twilight and smashed the glasses. A few of them then threw notices in and around the shop warning against the entry of corporates into the retail sector. The notices bear the name of a fictitious organisation, Democratic Youth Movement, which the police suspect has been derived from those of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Solidarity Youth Movement, youth wing of the Jamat-e-Islami.

The Kerala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (KVVES) has also been protesting against the retail outlets in the district. It had resulted in a violent incident in front of the Spencer’s Retail last month. Activists of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) during a picketing last week attacked the Elite Arcade, pelting stones and destroying the glasses of the VLCC Centre, a health and fitness centre, on the first floor.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (North) C.M. Pradeep Kumar said the attack on Saturday had been meticulously carried out during a power failure. Power was disrupted thrice in a gap of five to 10 minutes after 6 p.m. At that time the Kerala State Electricity Board had been undertaking some repair works. This information had been leaked to the miscreants who carried out the attack. “The police are looking into more details in this regard,” he said.

Investigating officers, however, do not suspect the role of political parties or their affiliates of carrying out the attack at a retail shop although some of the political parties are vociferously opposing the entry of retail giants.

“The posters of the “Democratic Youth Movement” appeared at various places in the city a couple of days prior to the incident. These had warnings about eliminating the retail outlets,” Mr. Pradeep Kumar said.

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