THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the back-to-back political murders that took place in a span of just 12 hours in Alappuzha, the Kerala Police have beefed up security across the state to deal with any untoward incident.
Out of 534 police stations, security has been enhanced particularly in 140 police station limits classified as 'A' category. These are stations with a history of communal and political violence and where the number of cases registered are more.
The cycle of the present violence was precipitated by the murder of SDPI state secretary KS Shan by suspected RSS workers on Saturday night at Mannanchery. Following this, BJP's OBC Morcha state secretary Ranjeet Sreenivas was hacked to death by suspected SDPI workers in retaliation at Vellakinar in Alappuzha town on Sunday morning.
Both murders occurred in Mannanchery and Alappuzha South station limits, respectively, which are classified as 'A' category stations. As per police protocol, 'A' category stations have better infrastructure, manpower and enhanced intelligence outreach as threat perception is high in these limits.
Meanwhile, State Police Chief Anil Kant on Sunday instructed the district police chiefs to maintain utmost vigil. The special branch has been told to mount a close surveillance in the sensitive pockets to avert the violence from spilling over to other districts.
Anil said the police did not commit any lapse and the force is on alert in the state to prevent any more untoward incident. Vehicle checks have also been enforced strongly in the state, while discussions on social media platforms are being watched by the cyber cell to identify communal rants, sources said.