Trivandrum: A letter that landed at the Kerala BJP state Committee office warning of a suicide attack during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Kerala visit has created a stir. The Kerala police and intelligence agencies have intensified their probe into the threat letter. It has been sent from a person identified as Joseph John Nadumuthamil who hails from Ernakulam.
Though the letter was received at the BJP state Committee office a week ago and was subsequently handed over to the Kerala police chief, the incident came to light Saturday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Kerala on Monday at 5 pm. He will be attending various functions during his two day visit including the flagging off of the Vande Bharat Express in Kerala.
PM Modi will be arriving in the state from Madhya Pradesh on a special Air Force flight. By half past five he will attend a BJP roadshow. Soon after landing, he will be attending a roadshow and then he will inaugurate 'Yuvam', a conclave organized by BJP-led youth organizations at Thevara Sacred Heart College ground.
The Prime Minister will be resting for the night at Taj Malabar Hotel. On Tuesday, PM Modi will take the flight from Kochi at 9.25 am to reach Thiruvananthapuram airport at 10.15 am. There he will be flagging off the Vande Bharat Express at Central Railway Station by 10.30 am. The Prime Minister is also expected to address a public meeting at the Central Stadium at 11 am.
Modi will inaugurate four railway projects, lay the foundation stone of Techno City and inaugurate Kochi Water Metro. He will be leaving for Surat at 12.40 pm. Following the development Kerala police and central agencies have launched an investigation into a letter threatening a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will be visiting the state on April 24 and 25 to take part in various programmes.
The letter in Malayalam, purportedly written by a Kochi resident, was received at the office of BJP state president K Surendran who in turn had handed it over to the police last week. The news of the threat letter came out today after a report by ADGP (Intelligence) was telecast in the media. As the news was out, Surendran met the media and said he had handed over the threat letter a week ago to the state police chief.
"Last week, President, BJP state committee, Kerala had received a letter written in Malayalam threatening the life of Hon. Prime Minister of India by using suicide bomber," the intelligence report read.
The report also said the veracity of the letter and the person behind it were under investigation. Surendran alleged that the "leak of the intelligence report" from the police was a grave mistake and it should be probed. The 49-page report gives details of the names of the officials on duty, their roles, the detailed programme chart of the Prime Minister among other matters.
Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan also slammed the alleged leak of the ADGP (Intelligence) report and said it was a serious matter.
"The Chief Minister should explain how a report on the security detail of the Prime Minister was leaked and going viral on WhatsApp. This means the state home department is in shambles," Muraleedharan alleged.
Meanwhile, Kochi resident N J Johny, whose name and number were there in the alleged threat letter, today said he was innocent. "Police have questioned me. I have given them all the details. They crosschecked the handwriting and everything," he told the media. His family said they suspect another person from the locality, who has some issues with them over some matter related to a church, behind the letter. As per the report, nearly 2,000 police personnal have been deployed each in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi cities. (PTI)
