The police have launched an investigation after nine high-explosive crude bombs were found on a field at Kolari, near Mattannur, in Kannur district of Kerala on April 23 evening.
The bombs were discovered by a local woman. The explosives were concealed in two buckets placed in a ditch on the field. She immediately alerted other villagers.
The Mattanur police and a bomb squad from Kannur promptly arrived at the scene and neutralised the explosives. The police believe the bombs were made recently.
With Kerala going to the polls on April 26, the police said they were investigating the incident seriously.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Mattanur area committee has called for a thorough investigation into the matter, urging authorities to apprehend those responsible for the placement of the bombs. The CPI(M) raised suspicions, alleging that the explosives may have been linked to an organisation affiliated with the Sangh Parivar.
Meanwhile, the Congress submitted a complaint to the District Collector, the Chief Election Officer and the Director General of Police expressing their apprehensions of possible violence on the polling day in Kannur.
Peravoor MLA Sunny Joseph alleged that the bombs were made at Panur and were intended to be used against “political opponents.” He demanded sufficient police force, including Central force, to be deployed at least at sensitive polling booths.
In the wake of bomb explosion at Mulliyathode in Panoor in Kannur earlier in April, the police, the Central Reserve Police Force, a dog squad and a bomb squad had jointly carried inspections at Mattanur. However, they could not find anything.
