Kerala police chief TP Senkumar has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had faced a terrorist threat during his visit to Kochi last week.

The DGP was clarifying Ernakulam rural SP AV George’s comments on people who protested against the IOC plant in Puthuvype.

George had earlier told media that the police suspected the Puthuvype protesters had terrorist links.

Confirming this, the DGP said, “Of course there is (the presence of some extremist elements behind these protests). Because, there are people from outside among these protesters.”

“There was no prior intimation of any such protest and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s motorcade was slated to pass through the route within the next 24 hours. Moreover, the VVIP visit was carried out under the cloud of a terror threat, which could not have been disclosed at that time. The action by the DCP should be viewed against the backdrop of these developments,’’ the police chief is quoted as saying in The Hindu.

Modi had visited Kochi on Saturday to inaugurate the first phase of the Kochi Metro under tight security. He had also taken a short ride on the metro train along with Governor P Sathasivam, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Senkumar also justified Kochi DCP Yatish Chandra’s action of resorting to lathicharge to disperse the protesters in Puthuvype on Friday night.

"They (the protesters), all of a sudden, tried to create trouble on the route the Prime Minister's motorcade was to take (on June 17). The Special Protection Group (SPG) and other security agencies were conducting a trial run through the route,” the DGP said as per the The Times of India report.