September 6th incident near Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple
A major security breach has been reported in the high-security zone, covering the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala State. On the 6th of September, two Muslim youths Mohammed Hassan and Sharukh Ali, hailing from Rampur, Uttar Pradesh were caught near the temple for a fake WhatsApp account they created using a customer’s cell number from which they had communicated with unknown persons from Pakistan. The youths ran a shop- Royal Hair Salon– just 100 feet from the famous Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple.
Though Hassan deleted all WhatsApp chats, an image of the Pakistan Army and a message in Urdu praising the Pakistan Army were recovered from his phone. Still, the police are trying to dilute the matter and have charged Hassan under the IT Act for tampering with a customer’s cell phone. No enquiry is being made regarding the anti-national angle and their communication with a number with +92 number which is Pakistan.
Surprisingly State police also set free the other person, Sharukh Ali after the initial investigation.
The details of the incident with a background brief on the growing threat posed by Islamic terrorism in Kerala are given below:
The background
There have been many instances in the past three decades indicating that Kerala is fast growing as a hotbed of Islamic extremism and a safe haven for extremists having links with international terror organizations.
Although Kerala is one of the most literate states in the Indian Union, that has not prevented the growth of Salafi extremism in the State. In the late 80s and early 90s Muslim fanatic movements were largely homegrown and funded by expatriates Kerala Muslims working in the Middle East. However, in the last two decades, international terror organizations are exploiting the situation and having their own network in the state, which includes sleeper cells based in the State and recruits chosen for international missions.
Thus, moles and recruiters for Pakistan ISI and terror organizations from Al-Qaeda, Al Nusra, and the Islamic State of Khorasan thrive in the state, Kerala youths have been linked to many terror attacks and suicide bombings that took place in Kabul to Colombo. In 2008, three Kerala youths were killed in Kashmir during an armed encounter with security forces. The youths were trying to cross over to Pakistan for arms training with the help of Kashmiri terrorists. In fact, during the entire history of the Kashmir separatist movement, it was for the first time that Security forces killed armed Indian nationals or insurgents who were non-Kashmiri. And they were from Kerala!
Due to the unique socio-political situation prevailing in Kerala and owing to minority communities’ domination in all spheres of life, vote bank politics, etc. political parties either patronize extremist elements or prefer to turn a blind eye towards the nefarious activities. Not only Hindu organizations but even the Christian church has openly accused the ruling Communist party (CPI-M) of patronizing extremist elements in Kerala.
However, there have been instances when those in power like former Chief Ministers A K Antony, V S Achuthanandan, and former DGP Loknath Behera IPS who on the eve of his retirement openly confessed that Kerala is quickly becoming a perfect breeding ground for terrorist activities.
It is now very clear that open terror-related attacks do not happen on the ground in Kerala as this is a safe hideout and base for them. However, sleeper cells are present in every nook and corner and activities like drug jihad, love jihad, open indoctrination, and fundraising are now a reality.
Latest incident
It is in this context that we should view and analyze the latest incident that happened in the high-security zone of Thiruvananthapuram in the vicinity of Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, which has become a centre of international attention after a huge treasure was found in the cellars of the temple. This particular incident narrated below highlights the alarming nature of the situation and the callous attitude of the State police and authorities towards an issue that involves national security and the safety of one of the most prominent temples of the nation.
On Sep 3rd, 2020 a local wayside tender coconut seller Sreekumaran Nair took his grandson to the Royal Hair Salon, just 100 feet from the famous Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple, for a haircut.
In the Saloon, Mohammed Hassan (21), the ‘barber,’ asked the grandfather to borrow his phone. An unsuspecting Sreekumaran Nair foolishly handed over his device. It was not a smartphone and did not have social media apps like WhatsApp. After some time, Hassan returned the phone but asked for it a couple of minutes later and took an OTP number which had been received by that time, Sreekumaran even received a message that he was logged into WhatsApp but he was obviously not sure what it was!
The next day, Sreekumaran informed his friend about the suspicious incident. His friend checked and found that Sreekumaran’s number was on WhatsApp. Hassan had obviously used Sreekumaran’s phone number and logged into WhatsApp.
Sreekumaran and some locals caught Mohammed Hassan (21) and when they checked his phone found pictures of Pakistani army men in battle fatigues travelling in military convoys. There were some messages too, which were in Urdu seeking blessing for the Pakistan army men. The victim complained to the police, who took Hassan and Sharukh Ali (30), who runs the shop, into custody.
Both the suspects were natives of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, and military intelligence and central agencies interrogated them briefly However, Kerala police being the prime investigating agency of the case, obviously tried to play down the issue. They let one of the Sharukh Ali go free and charged Mohammed Hassan under IPC 1860 (Sections-n419, 468 & 471 and the IT Act Section 66 © for tampering with a customer’s cell phone.
My sources in investigating agencies tell me that it is suspected that Hassan transfers and receives money from numbers beginning with +92, the country code of Pakistan. These financial transactions are done under the cloak of gambling.
The hair salon where Mohammed Hassan was working and spent his days for the past couple of months is just behind the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, hardly 100 meters from the rear entrance of the temple bordering the temple-owned property.
Some obvious questions
- Why the Kerala Police didn’t take into account the nature of the messages and pictures that appeared in Hassan’s fake WhatsApp account and oversaw the fact that the accused was in touch with a number with country code +92, which is Pakistan? They also didn’t take into account the fact that the accused reportedly deleted all their WhatsApp messages.
- Mohammed Hassan had reached Kerala only in the month of June 2022. Why did the State Police release Sharukh Ali, one of the suspects without contacting the UP police to ascertain the background of the suspects?
- Why the State police charged Mohammed Hassan with relatively minor charges of tampering with electronic devices using false identity when there was first-hand information about his connection with Pakistan?
- How did Islamists and persons with unverified backgrounds rent a shop and work close to the temple which is in a high-security zone?
- Preliminary enquiry reveals that there is a mafia around the temple that sublets shops and commercial spaces to people without any background check and flouting all norms. Have the police ever made a detailed investigation regarding this grave security threat?
- It is alleged that the actual custodian of this shop is an employee of Sree Padmanabha Temple. Have the police ever questioned him or made an enquiry regarding this fact?
- Did the Kerala State police release one of the accused after getting a nod from the Intelligence Bureau and Military Intelligence, the two agencies that interrogated the suspects?
- Why the hair salon was allowed to open and function the next day itself when the suspects were in police custody? Did the police investigate the matter and find out who opened the shop and did they open it to remove any incriminating evidence from the shop?
Conclusion
The passive attitude of the authorities is evident from the above-stated facts. Kerala’s Media also sidestepped this development which could be part of a well-thought plan.
From the facts stated above, it is clear the case pertains to anti-national activities and not money laundering alone. The primary motive of the suspects was not financial gains. Royal Saloon situated in the high-security zone is obviously used as a base for illegal and anti-national activities.
It may be noted that stern action by multiple central agencies in the past has badly affected the inflow of illegal funds into the State for anti-national activities. The crackdown on illegal telephone exchanges has also hurt the money laundering business. It is obvious that hair salons like Royal and many other mushrooming small-scale businesses in the state have financial backing from abroad.
A well-coordinated investigation and stern action by Central agencies are businesses the only way to avoid a grave situation in near future. As far as Sri Padmanabha Swamy temple is concerned, it is clear that there is a serious security breach there as police have no idea about people doing business around the temple and those coming and going. It could pose a big threat to the temple and surrounding areas in the coming days.
Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
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- Major security breach: Pak ISI cells active near Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple? - September 16, 2022
It’s also quite possible that an underground canal may have been dug to reach all the chambers of the treasures inside the temple vaults, and some/ many of the treasures decamped with.
[…] source […]
Something has gone very wrong at the top since 1947.
Hindus could never get a grip on this nation. At first Nehru compromised with the west. Then Indira had to kneel to get her out of emergency (remember she introduced “secular” in the constitution)
Then Rajiv got killed for moving away from Church backed LTTE
Don’t you think we should give more time to BJP / Modi to fix this infiltration.🤔🧐😱
Although very frustrating.
Unless Hindus gang up to standup against Breaking India forces, survival of next generation of Hindus is going to be very painful🧐😱🤔. But unfortunately Hindus won’t gang up. So the only way to protect them is to declare India “a Hindu rashtra” . Thereby putting breaks on Jihadi and missionary activities.
Lots to wake up from deep slumber. Amit Shah is the only active person. Rest of India (people of India) are still sleeping. the reach of a average politician is too huge. Time to reject & go for a new constitution & politicians to be paid only when they work & no immunity or security to them for people itself to provide security to good politicians. Politicians authority is to be limited to signing or making laws & stripped of all other privileges.
Lots to wake up from deep slumber. Amit Shah is the only active person. Rest of India (people of India) are still sleeping. the reach of a average politician is too huge. Time to reject & go for a new constitution & politicians to be paid only when they work & no immunity or security to them for people itself to provide security to good politicians. Politicians authority is to be limited to signing or making laws & stripped of all other priveleges.