Police round up 127 in effort to restore normalcy in Kovai

City Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan said on Thursday that 127 persons were taken into preventive custody on Wednesday night as a precautionary measure and to restore peace and normalcy.

The 127 persons were detained under police custody in a single night on Wednesday, he told media. The strong action comes a day after DGP JK Tripathy reviewed the security arrangements and efforts taken to prevent communal attacks.

“We are taking impartial action on those instigating and involving in communal violence over the last one week. Night patrol has been intensified in Coimbatore city by roping in additional police from other districts. Vehicle checks are done in more than 40 places,” he said.

For security reasons, the Coimbatore city has been partitioned into four divisions with each being monitored by a Deputy Commissioner. “Also, an assistant commissioner has been supervising the security arrangements in each police station limits. All efforts have been taken to ensure that normalcy is restored inCoimbatore,” the commissioner said.

The top cop also said that of the three cases involving attacks on functionaries affiliated to different religious outfits, one person has been arrested in one case, while offenders in two other incidents will be nabbed soon.

S Noor Muhammed (30) from Karumbukadai was arrested on Wednesday night for attacking Hindu Munnani district secretary Anand with an iron rod on Nanjundapuram Road.  

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 members of various Hindu outfits took out a protest march from Anna Salai to District Collector’s office on Thursday evening condemning frequent attacks on Hindu outfit functionaries. They also urged police to nab the culprits involved in attacks.  

The Muslim outfits, protesting against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Coimbatore have called off their protest for five days. The protest began on February 19 near a mosque in Athupalam has been named ‘Coimbatore’s Shaheen Bagh’.

The police said that the day passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents.