The Tamil Nadu police and the central intelligence agencies have stepped up coastal security and vigil in Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and Rameswaram, following a tip-off on infiltration attempts from Sri Lanka, highly-placed police sources told THE WEEK.
According to intelligence sources, there was information about a boat carrying armed operatives, heading towards Rameswaram coast.
Sources also said that more navigating ships have been deployed by the Coast Guard, and patrolling has been intensified in Kanyakumari, Rameswaram, Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram, to thwart any attempt by the miscreants to reach the Tamil Nadu coast.
Sources say that a police station in Madurai got a call from Sri Lanka, informing them that armed men were approaching the Tamil Nadu coast. But it was found to be a hoax call. The caller identified the men as Ameer, Barkath and Naseer. Upon investigation, it came to light that they were involved in a land acquisition case in Panaikulam in Ramanathapuram district.
Police presence along the Ramanathapuram and Kanyakumari coast was enhanced last week following an input that hazardous chemicals from the Singapore-flagged merchant vessel, X-Press Pearl, that sank off the Colombo coast in the first week of June could get washed ashore, the sources said.
