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Karunanidhi promises action against derelict Coimbatore policemen

The Tamil Nadu government proposes to take action against those police officials in Coimbatore who had failed to conduct raids on fundamentalist groups despite warnings sent to them prior to the February 14 serial blasts.

Disclosing this in the state assembly while replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the governor, Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said while raids conducted in several other places following the warnings received from state and central intelligence agencies yielded results, top police officials in Coimbatore reported no arms seizure even after conducting raids in that city with the assistance of the Central Reserve Police Force personnel.

Karunanidhi said raids conducted all over Tamil Nadu between February 1 and 13 resulted in the seizure of 2,019 Country-made bombs, 586 gelatine sticks, 1,295 detonators and 207 kg of explosives, apart from fuse wire, crackers, pistols and cartridges.

He said the Coimbatore district collector and police officials had been alerted several times in December and January after the receipt of intelligence reports from state and central intelligence agencies.

Karunanidhi said he could not personally carry out the raids all the time. "We have to go on the basis of the work done by officials."

He said the state police had received warnings from the state intelligence on December 11 and the state special branch on January 24 that Al-Umma was planning retaliatory blasts on police stations and diesel tankers in and around Coimbatore. Similar messages had been received from the Intelligence Bureau and the Union home ministry on December 21 and 24 and January 2 and 19. All the decisions taken on the basis of these warnings were communicated to the police officials at Coimbatore, he added.

"On the morning of February 14, I had asked the police officials at Coimbatore to ensure foolproof security during the visit of BJP president L K Advani," the chief minister said.

"The state machinery swung into action within hours of the serial blasts that evening. I was constantly in touch with the city police commissioner, asking him to ensure security for Advani who was visiting the hospital to console the blast victims," he added.

Condemning the blasts as acts of barbarism against innocent people, Karunanidhi said he could not accept the argument that the blasts were meant to be in retaliation for the November riots in Coimbatore in which innocent Muslims were affected.

This sort of argument has been used to brainwash and misdirect some Muslim youth towards terrorism. A letter written by one of the arrested youth to his wife revealed that he believed that he would attain martyrdom even if he died while setting off the blasts, the chief minister said.

He said Prophet Mohammed had insisted that there was no point in fighting religious wars and harming innocent people. The Prophet was categorical that those who indulged in such acts were not Muslims.

Karunanidhi said he was awaiting the report of former Gujarat high court judge P R Gokulakrishnan constituting the one-man commission appointed to inquire into the November riots as well as the February serial blasts. "We also propose to take stern action against irresponsible police officials in Coimbatore," he added.

Reacting to the demand of S Balakrishnan, leader of the Opposition, for a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the inter-state ramifications of the blasts, Karunanidhi said an in-depth and efficient probe into the conspiracy behind the blasts was on.

UNI

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