On Sunday, 23rd April 2023, the Kerala police arrested a person named Xavier from Kochi who allegedly sent a letter threatening to carry out a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his two-day visit to the state. Xavier wrote the letter because he had a personal resentment towards Joseph Johnny, a native of Kaloor, whose name and phone number were mentioned in the alleged letter, said Kerala police.
Kerala police examined the handwriting of the accused before arresting him. He confessed to the crime during the interrogation. The police had registered a case in this regard on Saturday after state BJP chief K Surendran received a letter threatening to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On April 18, a letter sent in the game of Ernakulam resident Joseph John Nadumuttathil was received by Kerala BJP’s office, threatening to kill prime minister Narendra Modi. The letter also included the phone number of John. The letter was delivered at the state BJP office on April 18, 6 days before PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Kerala.
Later, the authorities discovered that Joseph John is NJ Johnny, an Ernakulam local. During questioning by police, Johnny claimed that he never wrote the letter. He further said that he suspects that it was written by his neighbour, Xavier. Johnny told the law enforcement officers that Xavier may have done it out of a personal vendetta.
Xavier was eventually questioned based on Johny’s allegations, but he denied the accusation. After that, the handwriting of the letter was examined scientifically. He was arrested after his handwriting matched the handwriting of the threat letter. He confessed to the crime during the interrogation, police said.
Locals testified against Xavier as well. Johnny stated that there was a disagreement about funds during a church prayer group meeting, and Xavier threatened him with the repercussions.
On April 24, Prime Minister Modi will travel to Kochi and participate in a road show. He will meet with the top leaders of nine different Churches after addressing a youth gathering.
He will spend the night in Kochi and leave for the state capital Thiruvananthapuram the following morning to kick off the inaugural Vande Bharat Express. From there, he would head to the Central Stadium to inaugurate a few projects and deliver a speech to the public at around midday. He will then leave for Gujarat.
