Union Minister of State for Home warns about ISI’s clout in Kerala

Groups in Kerala have ISI links: Minister

PNS | Thiruvananthapuram

Union Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran has said that Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has influence over certain organizations and regions in Kerala. Some outfits were under the observation of security and Intelligence agencies in this connection, he said at the CRPF camp at Pallippuram near Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

Security experts said that Ramachandran’s statement was a confirmation of what they had been suspecting and speaking about for the past several years. However, the Minister did not identify the organizations in Kerala which had connections with the ISI. Thadiyantavide Nazeer, LeT’s South India commander and prime accused in the Bangalore bombings case, had already admitted to his Pak connections.

Though Ramachandran indirectly confirmed reports that certain extremist groups working in the Gulf had ISI connections, he refused to elaborate on this. He said the Intelligence agencies and the Home Ministry had several reports with them but all of them could not be divulged due to security reasons. However, he said that Left extremism had not grown into dangerous levels in Kerala.

The Minister also said that the Maoist situation in the country was not demanding intervention by Defence forces to control it. He said what the Maoists should do was to lay down their arms and be ready for discussions with the Government. The people of the country could not be viewed as enemies, he said. The Maoist problem could be solved through talks, he hoped.

Ramachandran denied the allegation raised by Islamist leader Abdul Nasser Madani, 31st accused in the Bangalore blasts case, that the charges against him were the result of a conspiracy by the Central Intelligence Bureau. Ramachandran said the IB had nothing to do with the case against Madani.

The case against Madani on the Bangalore bombing incidents was taken by the Karnataka Police and not by the IB. The Intelligence Bureau was not in the habit of conspiring against people, he claimed. However, the IB had the powers to carry out inquiries about anyone in the country but there had been no interventions by the IB in the case of Madani, he said.

Ramachandran said that Madani need not worry about the Bangalore bombings case if he was innocent. He would have the opportunity to prove his innocence in the court, he said. He added that the Union Home Department had got all the details of the case.

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