Kochi: The Kerala Police on Sunday arrested a man who had sent a letter threatening a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be attending various programs in the state on April 24 and 25.
Kochi resident Xavier, who runs a business in the city, was arrested by the police for allegedly writing a threatening letter in the name of another person.
City Police Commissioner K Sethu Raman told PTI-language, “We have arrested the person after investigating the matter scientifically. It was part of a personal vendetta.
The letter, written in Malayalam to Kochi resident NJ Johny, was received at the office of BJP state president K Surendran, who handed it over to the police last week.
The news of the letter came to light on Saturday after a report by ADGP (Intelligence) was circulated in the media. After the news came out, Surendran met the media and said that he had handed over the threat letter to the state police chief a week ago.
The intelligence report said, “Last week, the President, BJP State Committee, Kerala, received a letter written in Malayalam, threatening the life of the Honorable Prime Minister of India.”
Johnny had met the media yesterday and claimed that he was innocent. He said, “The police have interrogated me. I have given them all the information. They have checked the handwriting and everything.”
His family told the police that they suspected another person in the area who was having a tiff with them over a matter related to a church. Police said that Xavier had some personal disagreement with Johnny and had written the letter to implicate him.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Sethu Raman said 2,060 police personnel have been deployed in Kochi city as part of the security arrangements for the Prime Minister’s visit. He also said that around 20,000 participants are expected to take part in the PM’s roadshow.