The Kerala [Images] government has recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe in the 2003 Marad massacre.

Nine people were killed at Kozhikode district's Marad beach on May 2, 2003.

A request to the central government for a CBI probe is among the actions taken by the state government on the Justice Thomas P Joseph Commission's inquiry report.

Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan presented the commission's findings along with the Action Taken Report to the Assembly.

The commission had pinpointed the involvement of the activists of the National Development Front and the Indian Union Muslim League in the incident.

The NDF and IUML activists were actively involved in the planning and execution of the massacre and it was quite unlikely they were involved without the blessings of their respective leadership at least at the local level, the report said.

It also said that two local IUML leaders had been involved in the conspiracy or had prior information about it.

The report further noted:

The massacre at Marad beach on May 2, 2003 was not merely a revenge for the killing of three persons at Marad beach on January 3/4, 2002. Instead, it was a one-sided attack on people belonging to a community without any provocation.

The lethargic attitude of the policy of appeasement adopted by some political parties had encouraged and emboldened religious fundamentalism and terrorism even involving external forces which is a reality in the state.

The successive governments after 1996 failed in taking effective steps to prevent the growth of religious fundamentalism and terrorism in the state, which sometimes led to communal clashes and riots, the Commission pointed out.