KOCHI: Data available with the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that Kerala is at the top of the ‘Crimes against the State’ list in the country, even as recent reports of Malayali youths forging ties with terrorist organisations like the Islamic State (IS) evoked some knee-jerk reactions from across the State.
It seems that either the police have failed to sense the undercurrents in the State’s crime scenario, or they acted under political influence in invoking the draconian provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The crime statistics published by the NCRB show that 72 cases of crime against the state were registered in Kerala in 2014, the highest in the country. Preliminary data show that nearly 100 such cases were reported in various parts of the State in 2015, which will be ratified by the NCRB in the next edition of its report.
Cases registered under the categories of ‘treason, sedition, rebellion and offences promoting enmity between different groups that disturb tranquility in society and prejudicial to national integration’ are considered as ‘Crimes against the State.’
The NCRB has started collecting data on such offences perpetrated since 2014, under the revised proforma of ‘Crime in India.’
Of the 72 cases reported in 2014 in Kerala, 65 were pertaining to ‘promotion of enmity between different groups (Section-153A and 153B of the IPC), including imputation, assertions prejudicial to national integration(Section-153B of the IPC) and sedition (Section-124A of the IPC).
Speaking to ‘Express,’ NCRB SP Zachariah George said a serious study was needed to ascertain whether there is actually a spurt in ‘crimes against the state,’ as reported in 2014.
“It has to be checked whether the police had invoked provisions of various Acts, like the UAPA, under political compulsion. If there is a substantial increase in crimes against the state, it has to be looked into whether Intelligence agencies in Kerala failed to read the writing on the wall,” he said.
ADGP R Sreelekha told ‘Express’ that most of the cases reported in the previous years, under the ‘offence against state’ category, were related to disrespect to national flag; offensive online remarks against the interest of the state and creating enmity between two groups. “Such cases have nothing to do with extremist organisations like the IS,” she said.
However, sources in the police admitted that cases related to disrespect to national flag and promotion of religious enmity were a clear pointer to the growing intolerance in the State, and that law enforcement agencies had either failed to check them or refused to act due to various reasons.