After POTA, Jaya declares whole TN notified area

Section 4 says that anyone found in possession of unauthorised ‘‘arms and ammunition specified in Columns (2) and (3) of Category I or Category III (a) of Schedule I to the Arms Rules, 1962, in a notified area’’ can be arrested under POTA.

This implies that anyone found in possession of illegal arms and ammunition in any part of the state can be arrested under POTA even if they had been arrested under the Arms Act or Explosive Substances Act.

Those detained under Section 4 of POTA can be punished with imprisonment for life or with a fine which may exceed Rs 10 lakh or both.

With the entire state now becoming a ‘‘notified area’’, extremists of the Muslim Defence Force (MDF) and some associates of Veerappan who were recently arrested and found in possession of arms and ammunition, face the danger of attracting POTA, police sources said.

In a major crackdown in connection with the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary on December 6, the state police had nabbed about 20 MDF extremists and recovered arms and ammunition from them. Interrogation revealed that these ultras had planned to create terror in the state by planting bombs in temples and conspired to assassinate some important political leaders.

The STF had also recently arrested five members of Tamil Liberation Front, led by Ilavarasan, who were part of Veerappan’s gang and were involved in the abduction of former Karnataka minister H. Nagappa.

Arms and explosive materials were recovered from them, these Tamil activists and also detained under POTA, the sources said. The government’s order comes several months after it had arrested Vaiko and eight other MDMK functionaries in July last year for expressing their open support to the banned LTTE at a public meeting in Tirumangalam, near Madurai.

Unperturbed by criticisms that it was misusing POTA, the Jayalalithaa government went ahead and arrested P. Nedumaran and Suba Veerapandian, leaders of the banned Tamil Nationalist Movement.

Police also arrested Pavanan and Thayumanavan, both Tamil activists, for their support to the LTTE.