The Popular Front of India (PFI) has been banned by the Central Government for five years. Police security has been beefed up in various sensitive areas of Coimbatore district, including Ukkadam and Kottaimedu, where Muslims live in large numbers.
Coimbatore: Security arrangements have been stepped up in sensitive areas of Coimbatore district even as news broke out on the Centre having imposed a ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI)..
The city was just limping back to normal after the petrol bomb attacks in Coimbatore created a lot of tension in the city last week. With the Government of India now imposing a five-year ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) an unusual tense atmosphere prevailed in Ukkadam and its surrounding areas where Muslims live in large numbers.
Police have been deployed in large numbers, especially in Kottaimedu where the Popular Front of India office is located.
On the orders of the Coimbatore City Police Commissioner, Balakrishnan, a police team led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Madhavan has been deployed in the city.
It has also been announced that the police will be deployed 24 hours a day on rotational basis across Coimbatore city. Also, six SPs are overseeing sensitive areas of Coimbatore, with one SP deployed per police station. In addition, 27 vehicle checking centres have been set up.
Muslim women in Kottaimedu area raised slogans and staged a brief protest against the Central Government's ban on PFI on Wednesday. The police had announced through loudspeakers that the banned PFI organisation should not hold a protest or have a public gathering in the PFI office areas, and hence dispersed those who tried to stage a protest.
The police are also keeping a close watch on social media, public places and other places where the public can generally gather and interact.