High alert in Indian state after letter threatening suicide attack ahead of PM Modi’s visit

Threat comes as Modi is set to visit Kochi on Monday

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he speaks during an election campaign rally of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (AP)

India’s southern state of Kerala has been put on high alert after a threat of a suicide attack was received ahead of prime minister Narendra Modi’s visit.

The threat came in a letter received by the state head of Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to Indian media reports.

K Surendran, BJP’s Kerala chief, reportedly received the letter a week ago and handed it over to the police and the intelligence department, which is now investigating the threat.

The threat comes as Mr Modi is set to visit the major port city of Kochi on 24 April.

The letter threatened that Mr Modi would face the fate of Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian prime minister and father of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who died in 1991 in a suicide bomb attack.

The letter, however, also contained the name and address of the alleged sender, according to Indian media outlets. The police traced down the person – a local resident who denied writing it.

“The police have matched the letter with my handwriting. They are convinced that I was not behind the letter,” he told The Indian Express.

“Somebody who holds a grudge against me may have been behind the threat. I have shared the names of persons whom I suspect,” he said.

Meanwhile, a letter detailing the ramped up security during the prime minister’s visit after the threat was leaked to the media, with state BJP chief slamming the police.

“Religious extremist outfits are very strong and active in Kerala,” he alleged. “The report of the state intelligence chief has been leaked out to the media. It has reference to several organisations including the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), SDPI and Maoists. But the state government is protecting these outfits,” he said.