Search the Internet           Tips

TN on alert on eve of Ayodhya Day

With the recovery of a timer-device from a train arriving from Jammu Tavi on Monday afternoon, the Tamil Nadu police have been put on extra alert on the eve of the Ayodhya demolition anniversary on Wednesday.

The police have been on high alert for over a week, with the anniversary of the Coimbatore riots falling on November 27.

Though Tamil Nadu was peaceful when the Ayodhya demolition took place on December 6, 1992, subsequent years saw the state becoming a ground for terrorist activities linked to Islamic fundamentalists. There have been bomb attacks on the offices of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Hindu Munnani and the killing of some Hindu leaders led to violence.

In 1996, three trains leaving Chennai Central became the target of bomb blasts, in which 12 persons were killed and scores injured. This was followed by the Coimbatore serial blasts of February 14 1998, on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections, which then BJP president and now Union Home Minister L K Advani, escaped because of a delayed flight.

The Railway Police have been keeping a track of its tracks across the state and it has installed closed-circuit television sets at all major stations to monitor movement of passengers, while it plans to extend the facility to other stations in a phased manner.

Southern Railways has employed over a lakh of its staff and policemen to keep vigil along the tracks. Policemen are also checking luggage at sensitive stations like Coimbatore. Tracker dogs have become a regular feature at most major railway stations in the state over the past years.

If the Ayodhya anniversary is what the nation is tense about, in Tamil Nadu, it was preceded by the Coimbatore riots anniversary. Anti-Muslim riots broke out in the Cotton City, following the slaying of traffic constable Selvaraj, who challenged militants breaking a check-post with weapons from their car. Some policemen and others allegedly ransacked major establishments of a religious community in the city, which led to the Coimbatore serial blasts three months later.

The Tamil Nadu police have taken no chances and senior police officials have visited the city over a month to finalise security arrangements. So strict was the vigil, that the police claimed to have arrested film director A R Ramesh, wanted in connection with the suicide of actress Viji last week, when checking vehicles passing through Coimbatore district, for weapons and militants.

However, the Rajakumar abduction and participation of pan-Tamil militants in Veerappan's network, added a new dimension. "In the normal course, we do not expect links between pan-Tamil militants and Islamic groups, and there need not be any common cause between them. However, you do not know how things could shape up or what their ultimate motives are," said a source. "We are not taking chances and are verifying all leads.''

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report