Akhila case: Kerala BJP claims state govt's stand over NIA probe will help 'anti-national forces'

Kozhikode: Kerala unit of BJP on Sunday ridiculed the state government’s stand that a National Investigation Agency probe is not needed in the Akhila case, saying it would only help anti-national forces. “Avoiding NIA probe will only help anti national forces”, state BJP General Secretary MT Ramesh said. Ramesh was addressing a press conference in Kozhikode in connection with the “Jan Raksha Yatra” taken out by the state BJP. [caption id=“attachment_4123357” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] The Kerala government had on Saturday told the Supreme Court that the police probe into a prominent case of alleged ’love jihad’ had revealed nothing worthy of being reported to the Centre under the 2008 NIA Act. In August, the top court asked the NIA to probe charges that people with links to the Islamic State were behind the conversion of a 24-year-old Hindu woman, Akhila (or Hadiya), who married a Muslim man, Shafeel Jahan. Questioning CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s remarks that organisations like Popular Front of India should not be banned legally and be handled in a democratic manner, Ramesh alleged that the party is supporting the outfit in the wake of the 11 October by-election to the state assembly from Vengara constituency. On the case registered against Jan Raksha Yatris for allegedly raising objectionable slogans during the yatra in Kannur, Ramesh said BJP was not afraid of such ’threats.'