Kerala’s Own ‘Gaza’ Street Under Intelligence Agencies’ Watch

Kerala’s Kasaragod municipality is under the intelligence scanner for recently christening a street after Gaza - the disputed strip of land that lies between Israel and Egypt, under Palestinian self-rule.

The Intelligence Bureau and National Investigation Agency are investigating any possibility of radical influence behind the naming of the street in Thuruthi ward, which is also close to Padane from where the majority of the 21 youths from Kerala had gone missing since 2016 and are suspected to have joined the Islamic State terror outfit.

The road running by the side of Thuruthi Juma Masjid was named 'Gaza' last month and was inaugurated by Kasaragod district panchayat president AGC Basheer. “I was not the person who was supposed to inaugurate the street as the area falls under the municipality's jurisdiction. But I had to step in at the last moment,” Basheer said.

Though municipality funds were believed to have been used to lay the street, municipal authorities claim they were kept in the dark about the naming. Municipal chairperson Beefathima Ibrahim too said she was not aware about such a street under her jurisdiction.

But local BJP leaders said there is an attempt to change names of various places in Kasaragod behind the backs of municipal officials. "There is a deliberate attempt to change the names of various areas in Kasaragod. When such matters come to the municipal council, there will be a debate and if the name is not of public acceptance, it will be rejected. For the same reason, many such names are not brought to the attention of the council," said municipality opposition leader P Ramesh.

A top police official said, since Kasaragod is a district known for intensifying “communal divisions”, it is always under the watchful eyes of the central agencies.