An unidentified person, alleged to have links to terror outfits, was detained from the premises of a Kerala court on Saturday. Three were detained in Tamil Nadu after reports claimed intrusion of LeT members from Sri Lanka.
Tamil Nadu was put on high alert following a midnight intelligence warning of six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists entering the state. The western districts, particularly Coimbatore and Tiruppur, have been put on high alert. A red alert has been issued to the coastal districts in South Tamil Nadu. Search operations are carried out at public places and several check points have been set up to search vehicles and look for suspects.
Tamil Nadu home department sounded the alert after they were tipped off by intelligence agencies that six terrorists have probably entered the state from neighbouring Sri Lanka for possible attacks in Tamil Nadu or Kerala. "Security has been beefed up across the state," said DGP L.K. Tripathy.
According to the intelligence report, portions of which was leaked to the media, "One Pakistani and five Sri Lankan Tamil Muslims said to be disguised as Hindus may carry out terrorist incidents in near future in the state. Targets of this terror group invariably include places of religious importance, tourist locations witnessing high footfalls of foreigners, crowded public places and important leaders of political and social organisations. They will also try to attack vital installations, including security installations, foreign embassies/consulates and state and central government establishments in the state. They may also target the Hindu leaders and places of worship."
In Kerala, a man suspected to have links with terror outfits was taken into custody by police from the premises of a court at Kochi, sources said. Malayalam televison news channels aired video of a man being whisked away by police from the district court premises. Police did not answer queries by the media.
His lawyer told a channel that the man hailed from Kodungallur in Thrissur district, who returned from Bahrain two days ago, and a woman were picked up by police as they came to the court to move a plea to "prove his innocence" before law enforcement agencies following reports that he had links with LeT members who had reportedly intruded into Tamil Nadu from neighbouring Sri Lanka.
-Inputs from PTI
