Thiruvananthapuram: Police clearance for rioters unlikely

Thiruvananthapuram: The cyber police on Wednesday registered a case in connection with the hartal call on the social media with the suspected intention of communal polarisation.

The Kerala State Human Rights Commission also sought a report from the police on the dubious shutdown and wanted steps to curb such trends.

According to police sources, the hartal call and all other communally-motivated messages on social media over the Kathua incident would be investigated.
The case was registered invoking various sections of the IT Act.

Already about 350 cases were registered in connection with Monday’s violence.
Stringent non-bailable sections including IPC 153-A for promoting enmity among religions were invoked against 200 of some 950 troublemakers held.

A majority of them were youngsters, and they might not even get police clearance certificate for jobs and passports.

Meanwhile, state police chief Loknath Behera said stern actions were being initiated against attempts to trigger communal sentiments on the social media and Monday’s hartal.

“Public, especially youth, should be alert against attempts by vested interest groups to disturb communal harmony in the state and they should strongly resist it,” he said in a statement.

Human Rights Commission chairperson P. Mohana Das had directed him to submit a report within 30 days on the action taken against such hartal calls.
Unless the police took stern action against the hartal call on Monday, such incidents could repeat, he said.

Even as media quoted a senior officer saying there was an attempt to trigger communal riots, sources at police headquarters said the attacks were not targeted against a specific community.