Black sticker on glass mere scare in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The scare created by the ‘black stickers’ on window glasses at houses in various parts of the state seems to be baseless as such patches are widely used while packing glass panels to avoid breaking while transportation. Even then, the state police is not taking any  chances and is probing the reported cases.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Wednesday  that range IGs were asked to inquire into the scare  that had been reported from Thiruvanantha-puram, Ernakulam, Idukki and Alappuzha districts. “All the police stations and control rooms in areas where such stickers have been spotted have been alerted, and steps have also been taken to avoid scaremongering,” he said.

There were widespread rumours that the stickers were being pasted by groups indulging in child kidnapping and thefts as  identification marks  to locate potential targets.

“Similar incidents were reported in Malappuram last year but a probe had not revealed anything as feared,” he said

A few instances of black patches on windows were reported from Nemom and Aryanad in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. 

However, some glass vendors have  pointed out that similar patches were applied on glass panels being brought from factories to avoid collision between glass panels during transportation.

“Earlier, hay or waste paper was used for packing glass panels. But the factories are  now using the thick sticky patches and those  found on some houses were the ones used for packing only," said the staff at a glass shop at Power House road in Thiruvananthapuram.

State police chief Loknath Behera said that the patches  would be subjected to forensic examination. All range inspector-generals of police were asked to coordinate the investigations. The police are examining whether the patches were made to deliberately create scare. The surveillance cameras of nearby spots where such incidents were reported are also being examined.