Kerala Police have arrested the suspected author of a letter that threatened to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi by a suicide bomb attack during his upcoming two-day visit.
"The person who sent the threat letter against the prime minister was arrested" Kochi City Police Commissioner K. Sethu Raman told Indian media. As per the commissioner, suspect "Xavier" was found with the help of forensics on Saturday.
During the police interrogation, Xavier reportedly confessed he penned the letter in the name of his neighbor - Johny - in order to entrap him over personal enmity.
Ahead of PM Modi's Kerala visit, which is due to begin on Monday, tight security and traffic controls have been deployed.
Modi is scheduled to flag off Kerala’s first Vande Bharat Express between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod on April 25, as well as lay the foundation stone for other projects worth more than INR 3.20 billion ($390 million).
He will likewise inaugurate India’s first water metro project on Tuesday which will have eight electric hybrid boats that will connect ten small islands surrounding the port city of Kochi.