A temple priest identified as Jayaraman, of Chirakkal Bhagavathi temple, was arrested for allegedly threatening to plant a bomb at St Thomas College where President Ram Nath Kovind is scheduled to attend a function on Tuesday.
On August 6 at around 1 am, the priest called up the police control room in Thrissur in a drunken state and threatened to plant a bomb at the college where the President would inaugurate the centenary celebrations, the police said.
Yatish Chandra, Thrissur District Police chief, said the accused, Jayaraman, was nabbed by the police after the mobile phone was tracked down. While being interrogated, he admitted to have made the call in an inebriated state.
“He is a priest at the Chirakal Bhagavathy temple in Thrissur. A case was registered against him for criminal intimidation,” the police said.
“With the help of Pavaratty police, we traced the number from which the call was made within hours and we took Jayaraman into custody,” unidentified police officials said to The News Minute. Jayaraman claimed that he was intoxicated when he made the call but his family claimed he was undergoing treatment for mental illness, the Hindustan Times reported.
The President is on a three-day visit to Kerala and had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on August 5.
President Kovind shall inaugurate a function that marks the conclusion of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Kerala Legislative Assembly at the Assembly complex in the state capital today.
On Tuesday, the President is scheduled to have breakfast with the chief justice and judges of the Kerala High Court at Kochi. On August 8, prayers will be offered at the famed Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple before returning to Delhi.
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