Kerala: Communal Clash and Police Firing - A compilation of relevant newsreports

A collection of news reports of the clashes and police firing killing 5 people.

Gulf Times, 19 May 2009

Death toll in Kerala clashes rises to five

By Ashraf Padanna

Thiruvananthapuram: The death toll in police firing during communal clashes that broke out on Sunday has gone up to five with one person succumbing to injuries yesterday, police said.
Four people died when police opened fire during clashes near the Muslim shrine of Beemapally in Thiruvananthapuram where a festival was being held.
Muslim groups took out a protest march in the state capital raising slogans against the police and the Left Democratic Front government accusing them of trying to drive a wedge between Muslims and Christians after the electoral debacle.
They also called for a shutdown today even as the district authorities clamped a curfew in the area.
Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan who skipped a politburo meeting of his Communist Party of India (Marxist) in New Delhi said the situation was under control and no clashes were reported since Sunday evening.
“We have sounded a high alert and are not taking any chances. Some 200 personnel from the RAF (Rapid Action Force) have been flown in and deployed in the sensitive areas besides the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and the local police deployments,” he said.
The minister also announced a compensation of Rs1.5mn each to the families of the dead and up to Rs100,000 to the injured. The government has also ordered a probe into the clashes and the police firing.
At least 40 people were in hospitals with injuries and the condition of some of them is said to be serious. The authorities are yet to assess losses to houses and properties. Several houses were gutted and shops and fishing boats destroyed in the clashes.
Police said they opened fire to prevent the mob from attacking a place of worship on the Cheriathura beach where a gang of extortionists and drug peddlers was operating.
They said a minor skirmish between traders of smuggled goods at Beemapally and the gang of extortionists in Cheriathura snowballed into rioting and arson.
Deputy Commissioner of Police A V George said the protesters repeatedly attacked the police with firebombs.
The protesters alleged the police were targeting members of a particular community and that the action was one-sided. They also alleged the police remained mute spectators despite several complaints against the gang.

___

UCAN News

INDIA Police claim timely action prevented serious sectarian riots

May 20, 2009

THIRUVANNATHAPURAM, India (UCAN) -- Police officials in Kerala say their timely intervention prevented Christian-Muslim violence spreading further in the southwestern Indian state.

Inspector General of police, Vinson M. Paul, the state's top police official, says their investigations into recent Catholic-Muslim clashes revealed a plan to bomb a church and trigger statewide violence.

One person was killed on May 17 when Catholic fishermen clashed with Muslim traders in Beemapally a coastal village near the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. Later, three people died and 45 others were injured when police fired on Muslims who tried to storm a Catholic church in Cheriathura. One of the injured died on May 18 and another a day later.

Paul said his men later discovered five unexploded bombs close to the Assumption Church in Cheriathura. "We have recovered five bombs and it seems the rioters were planning to attack the church," he said.

Forensic experts who examined the bombs said the bombs were powerful enough to destroy the church.

"It shows that there was a criminal conspiracy to destroy the communal harmony in the area," Paul said. If the church had been destroyed, violence would have spread to other areas along the Kerala coast.

Kerala has about 700 villages along its 580-kilometer coastline where Christians, Hindus and Muslims have lived in peace up until the clashes.

Catholics mainly live along the state's southern coast.

The police themselves have come under heavy criticism from different sections, including Oommen Chandy, leader of the opposition in the state assembly, for firing on the rioters in Cheriathura. But Paul said his officers had no other way to disperse the crowd other than to open fire after sufficient warning. He said a small police squad was trapped among the rioters.

The state government has deployed two companies of the Central Reserve Police Force in the area which is still under curfew.

State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the government has offered 1 million rupees (US$21,000) in compensation to the families of those killed. He said the administration has managed to bring the situation under control and would soon restore peace.

The government also ordered a judicial probe into the incident. "We will also examine complaints against the police," the minister added.

Archbishop Maria Calist Soosa Pakiam of Trivandrum says the Church would support all steps to restore peace in the area. He appealed to Catholics to cooperate with peace efforts. "It's very unfortunate that communal clashes took place in the area. We will continue our vigil and prayers for peace," he added.

T. Peter, who heads a fishermen's group in the area, says he fears the incident will lead to more sectarian violence in coastal areas. Some groups and politicians want to destroy communal harmony in the area so that they can exert more control, he added.

Peter also said local fishermen are now refusing to go to sea, fearing a possible backlash.

___


Express Buzz

Will history repeat itself?

As a tentative peace descends on the coastal areas of Beemapally, a man sits alone on the sands as if he has nothing much to look forward to/Rajeev.

Express News Service
First Published : 19 May 2009 03:52:00 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cheriyathura, which is bleeding from the wounds inflicted by the police on Sunday, is the same place where three persons were killed in the police firing in 1959.

The struggle that followed had led to the downfall of the EMS Ministry.

A pregnant woman, Flori, who was killed in that firing, had emerged as a martyr of the Liberation Struggle.

Sunday’s police firing killed five persons. Though there are no political and social issues involved in the clashes, the Popular Front of India (PFI), an offshoot of the erstwhile NDF with its extremist brand of politics, is all set to draw political mileage out of the issue. The character of the coastal regions of the Thiruvananthapuram district has always been volatile; ready for the most violent reaction at the slightest provocation. Earlier, on July 18, 1992, a very minor incident had resulted in a massive riot at the neighbouring Poonthura.

The political situation prevailing then after the demolition of the Babri Masjid had added fuel to the fire.

Last Saturday night, a criminal Kombu Shibu, alias Shibu, of the fishermen’s colony at Cheriyathura had gone on an extortion drive in the nearby Beemapally area.

Shibu had been regularly engaged in collecting extortion money from the traders of Beemapally, notorious for the smuggled goods business.

When the traders refused to give extortion money, Shibu and his friends damaged some shops there. He also destroyed fishing boats anchored at the Beemapally shore. In retaliation, a group of young men from Beemapally entered Cheriyathura area and damaged vehicles parked there. What followed was a group war. As both groups belonged to different communities, the clashes took a communal colour soon. The police team, which rushed to the spot, could ensure a temporary truce late on Saturday night.

But, things went out of control on Sunday. The attacks were repeated more violently. Houses and fishing boats were attacked in both Cheriyathura and Beemapally.

Several people were seriously injured. When the police team arrived on the spot, country bombs were reportedly hurled at them. The police resorted to firing, killing five men. This is the version the police give off-the-record.

Locals point out several loopholes in the police theory. Their allegation is that the police resorted to firing without taking the lathi-charge or tear gas shell-firing routes. There are also reports that Sub Collector K. Biju had refused to order firing.

A police officer in the rank of Assistant Commissioner stationed in the area had ordered the firing - disregarding the advice of the Sub Collector - after receiving approval from some quarters.

The incident would have been controlled if the police had taken steps to control the activities of Shibu. Shibu was released from jail only recently and had resumed collecting extortion money from the traders of the area.

There were reports that Shibu had recently collected extortion money even from an ASI of the Valiyathura police station.

There were also reports that the police had not been able to nab Shibu reportedly owing to his connections with some persons in the police force.

It was on the same Cheriyathura beach that Flory Pereira and her fellow martyrs of the Liberation Struggle, Lazer Pereira and Antony Rebeira, were killed in the police firing of July 3, 1959. They had lost their lives during a protest march against the EMS-led Government.

___


The Hindu, May 21, 2009

Kerala - Malappuram

Beemapally firing: IUML leader warns of agitation

Staff Reporter



E.T.Mohammed Basheer

MALAPPURAM: E.T. Mohammed Basheer, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) State secretary and MP from Ponnani, here on Wednesday warned the State government of a strong agitation if it failed to act against those responsible for the killings at Beemapally in Thiruvananthapuram.

Addressing a meet-the-press at the Malappuram Press Club, Mr. Basheer said that the IUML would lead a State-wide agitation including other like-minded organisations.

“The Beemapally firing could have been avoided,” he said, accusing the government of murderous negligence. Six people were killed and many wounded in the police firing.

On the election results, he said that more than the defeat of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate, facilitated by its own constituents, the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) was of significance in Ponnani.

“Even without any negative factor for the LDF, the UDF would have won in Ponnani,” he said. “The LDF cannot beat us in Ponnani... because of the policies we follow,” he said.

Responding to the CPI(M) leaders’ comment that the 15th Lok Sabha would not have an IUML member, Mr. Basheer said that dignity was also a desirable quality in politics.

“People have reacted vehemently to the arrogance of the CPI(M),” he said.

He said the UDF did not get any help from the Kanthapuram Sunni faction. However, he admitted that those who supported the UDF in the Sunni faction did not vote for his rival candidate Hussain Randathani.
Stance on PDP

He said an organisation like the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) would be dangerous for the country and ruled out any possibility of the PDP being admitted to the UDF in the event of a rejection by the LDF.

___


Express Buzz

Four killed in communal clashes in Kerala

IANS
First Published : 17 May 2009 11:22:15 PM IST
Last Updated :

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four people were killed in this Kerala capital Sunday after clashes between groups of two communities forced the police to open fire, an official said.

Confirming the deaths, Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha told IANS that the clashes at Bheemapally near the international airport here began late Saturday and continued Sunday.

"The police tried their best disperse the two groups. They (police) burst tear gas shells and had to resort to firing," he said.

He, however, refused say whether the victims died in the clashes or in the police firing.

"Only after medical examination would one know if the death took place because of the firing," Sinha said.

The violence started when two brothers clashed with traders at Beemapally Saturday evening. Angered by the retaliation of the traders, the duo later returned with close to two dozen of their friends and torched boats and fishing nets and damaged shops in the area.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, who was in New Delhi, appealed to the people to remain calm.

"Adequate compensation would be given to those who have suffered damages and (the goevrnment) will do the needful for those who lost their lives," Achuthanandan said.

Kerala Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is also in New Delhi, said the violence had nothing to do with the Lok Sabha election results announced Saturday, adding he would return here at the earliest.

Leader of Opposition Oommen Chandy of the Congress Sunday night told reporters here that there was a lapse on the part of the police and a small clash had flared up into a tragedy.

"A judicial inquiry has to be announced into the incident," said Chandy.

A company of the Central Reserve Police Force has has been deployed in the area and a group of the Rapid Action Force was on its way to the place, officials said.


__

SEE ALSO:

http://sudeepsdiary.blogspot.com/2009/05/biggest-police-firing-ever-in-kerala.html