COIMBATORE: Security has been enhanced across the district after reports of few Maoists, who escaped from Malappuram in neighbouring Kerala, hiding in Coimbatore surfaced. The rural police is leaving no stone unturned to keep the ultras at bay and have roped in printing press owners to stop publication of sensitive literature. Theere is also a plan to bring printing presses under CCTV surveillance.
Superintendent of Police R V Ramya Bharathi, said “We have directed printing press owners to not print unauthorized posters and pamphlets. We have requested them to collect details of persons, commissioning printing of posters and pamphlets. As there are some unauthorized printing presses functioning in the area, we have issued a directive asking them to report to the district police.”
The SP added that they were trying to impress upon the owners the necessity of bringing their premises under CCTV surveillance at the earliest.
Meanwhile, the city policeis planning a meeting with printing press owners to stop publication of unauthorized matter. A senior police officer said, “The security apparatus is being beefed up also to keep in check communal tension. There is a High Court order, banning printing of sensitive matter that could trigger violence.”
These measures assume significance in the backdrop of the recent encounter between the Kerala police and Maoists in the jungles of Malappuram on November 24 that left two ultras dead. While reports pegged the number of Maoists at seven, only two were killed, leading to suspicions that the remainder of the group was in hiding in Coimbatore.
Days after the alleged encounter, posters condemning the killings were pasted in the city by sympathisers. The city police had registered a case against two Maoist sympathizers.