Gun in car sparks off panic

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A rich devotee who arrived at the high-security Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple with a double-barreled gun triggered a minor panic on Tuesday. Tension gave way to relief only after the police confirmed that the weapon had a valid permit and no mischief was intended.Fort Police identified the devotee as Prasad Panicker, 49, a businessman from Peringamala, Pangode. He was accompanied by a woman and gunman Narendar, a retired CRPF man, both hailing from Andhra Pradesh.The drama unfolded at the north entrance of the temple in the morning, after the trio arrived in a Mercedes Benz sporting Tamil Nadu registration plates.Things started moving fast after passersby spotted the gun, placed quite openly, on the backseat of the car and alerted the police. One of the police commandos who rushed to the scene covered the gun with two pieces of cloth.The trio was let off after it was discovered that the gun had a valid permit. The woman left in an autorickshaw, while the man returned in the car."The licence was valid up to 2012, and they had not taken the gun out of the car. Moreover, the gunman remained behind while the others entered the temple,’’ Fort circle inspector Suresh Kumar said.The Andhra natives reportedly belong to the entourage of Shiv Sai Baba from Bangalore who was in the city to attend the Ganeshotsav organised by the Shiv Sena on September 10.The state police are on their toes with the discovery of immense wealth in the temple vaults. The old temple and its immediate environs now comprise a high-security zone. Recently, even hawkers were evicted from the Fort area by the security-paranoid authorities.According to CI Suresh Kumar, the owner of the gun should have informed the police station concerned - in this case the Fort station - or left the gun there before entering the zone. ‘‘Their ignorance about the regulation caused unnecessary panic,’’ he said.