Kozhikode: Yuva Morcha activists who had unleashed violence on ‘Down Town’ restaurant near 4thGate in Kozhikode have gone into ‘hiding’. Police said though they had identified most of the 15-odd Yuva Morcha activists who ransacked the restaurant, they could not arrest any yet and claimed all of them were ‘absconding’. City commissioner of police had directed his subordinates to take stern action against the activists who destroyed the restaurant on Thursday.
Police, which had reviewed the CCTV visuals and channel visuals, have launched a hunt for the activists and went to their houses in search of the accused. “We could not locate any and all the accused are absconding,” a police official attached to Vellayil police station told DC.
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Vellayil police are also cross-checking the genuineness of the video clips that had been aired by a private television channel. The restaurant owners alleged that these visuals could have been engineered or had been shot using paid models. Police sources said they were also investigating whether there was a conspiracy behind the news about the restaurant and the subsequent attack.
“Yuva Morcha activists launched an attack on the restaurant just 15 minutes after the channel aired the news item. Yuva Morcha activists had also invited other news channels to join them when they held a protest march to the restaurant and subsequently damaged it. So we have a suspicion that there could be a conspiracy behind the attack. Police had not received any complaint against the restaurant or the activities inside so far,” a senior police official said.
Police sources, however, said that there was huge political pressure on the police not to act against the Yuva Morcha activists. Sources said the arrests had been delayed due to this pressure which would allow the activists to get anticipatory bail.
