Kozhikode: In a major weapons haul at Marad beach, scene of last week's carnage which left nine persons dead, police on May 7 recovered a large number of sharp-edged weapons and explosives from three houses near the compound of a place of worship where excavations for more weapons are going on.

Raids carried out by police yielded 24 swords, some of them with bloodstains and human hair on them, a few bottles of petrol from the three houses and a country-made bomb from the premises of the place of worship, district collector T O Sooraj said.

The occupants had left the houses where the search was carried out after last week's violence.

Excavations using an earth-mover in the premises of the place of worship would continue for two more days, he said.

Meanwhile, police staged flag marches at Puthiyappa and Vellayil areas on the city outskirts.

PTI