A high-level security alert has been issued across Tamil Nadu following the alleged intrusion of at least four terror suspects.
Heightened bandobust arrangements are in place at vital installations, places of worship, major railway stations, bus stands, malls and other areas of public gathering.
The SUV-borne suspects on an “unknown mission” were sighted near Salem three days ago, sources in the intelligence agencies told The Hindu on Thursday.
The alert, issued on December 17, comes amid escalated tension across Tamil Nadu, with students, political parties and others staging protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.
The suspects were on the move in a silver SUV or a mini-van as per the alert, the authenticity of which was confirmed by sources with a central intelligence agency.
The alert urged the police to strengthen security of VIPs, leaders of various religious organisations, vital installations and tourist spots with high footfall.
Security concerns
While strict access-control was being maintained at all airports, local police were coordinating with the Central Industrial Security Force, Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police officials for joint patrolling and anti-sabotage checks.
“It is not necessary that the suspects need to carry high volume of explosives or weapons to carry out an attack. The ISIS operatives are trained use anything available at the scene to launch the attack like how a heavy vehicle was used to ram into a crowd killing dozens of civilians in France recently,” a senior police officer said.
Parrying questions on their identity and allegiance to any organisation, he said the suspects were involved in the murder of a Hindu outfit leader and jumped bail.
“They remained undercover for several months now: While we have been looking for them since the abrogation of special status under Article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir, the suspects surfaced near Salem three days ago. This is worrying us…it is possible that they were away undergoing training or something like that,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, Commissioners/Superintendents of Police were in touch with educational institutions through the district administration to ensure that unauthorised persons do not gain entry to the campus or students’ hostels.
A decision on closing colleges would be taken in case students’ protests intensify.
Cyber security cell was closely monitoring messages posted in the social media, WhatsApp and other platforms. Police would take firm action if anybody posted or promoted any hate message that could possibly lead to friction among two groups of people or public disharmony, police sources added.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Coimbatore range) G. Karthikeyan told journalists that the police intensified vehicle checks after the alert and stepped up surveillance in public places and sensitive areas in the region.
In August, the State police received a alert saying that that six Lashkar-e-Taiba militants intruded into Tamil Nadu via Sri Lanka and camped in Coimbatore.
More police personnel
Meanwhile, the Coimbatore city police said that 2,500 police persons will be deployed in the city on Friday. Various Muslim organisations have planned to stage a protest condemning the CAA and NRC in Coimbatore city on Friday.
(With inputs from Wilson Thomas in Coimbatore)
