The Thrissur Railway station in Kerala has been put on alert over the possibility of an ISIS terror plot, targeting the pilgrims travelling to the famous Sabarimala temple.
As per reports, the railway police based on an intelligence tip-off have signalled a plot to poison the potable water which is provided at the station. This tip-off is based on a letter sent to the station master K R Jayakumar by the railway station’s sub-inspector.
The station master has been advised to carry out a safety audit of the food and water provided to Sabarimala pilgrims and other commuters. He too has responded in kind by assuring that they are treating this issue with all seriousness and has stated that apart from regular checking, water tanks and food items would be properly inspected.
The state police chief Loknath Behera though, assured that there was no need to panic and asked the general public not to fall prey to spreading panic. As per Behera, a lot of threats are circulating on social media which claim to be from ISIS, all of which are being investigated by the police. During the course of the investigation they tend to alert the appropriate authorities, asking them to be vigilant.
A couple of weeks back, reports had emerged about a Malayali audio clip which called for a war against India and execution of lone wolf attacks on Indian festivals like Kumbh mela and Thirssur Pooram. This audio clip was possibly sent over Telegram messenger by Rashid Abdullah the former head of Kasaragod’s ISIS module who is currently with the Afghanistan unit of the Islamic. In this clip he is heard asking his fellow terrorists to poison food and use trucks to carry out terror attacks.
Such an alert comes after the July terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which resulted in the deaths of 7 Amarnath pilgrims. This attack happened at about 8:30 in the night when terrorists targeted the patrol van accompanying the pilgrim carrying bus. This bus too was hit in the terrorist firing and caused the death of 7 devotees apart from injuring 12 others.
