Police step up vigil along coast to prevent infiltration

By Our Staff Reporter

RAMANATHAPURAM (Tamil Nadu), JAN. 10. Police have stepped up vigil along the coastal district of Ramanathapuram to prevent the infiltration of militants belonging to Tamil outfits under the pretext of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees as also to check the smuggling of diesel and medicines to the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr. Sanjeev Kumar, Deputy Inspector General of Police, said.

Addressing press persons here on Wednesday he said that even as the Intelligence agencies alerted the police about the influx of refugees from

Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka, fifty eight Sri Lankan Tamil refugees have managed to reach Rameswaram so far in the current year. The Indian Navy has also tightened its vigil over Adams bridge covering five islands thereby keeping out unwanted intruders.

All check posts in the coastal areas of the district are manned by armed police personnel to ensure round-the-clock vigil. Police officials have been asked to conduct vehicle checks even in outlying rural areas to prevent smuggling. Village vigilance committees in the district have also been asked to monitor the movement of strangers in their respective villages and inform any suspicious movements to the police.

Since the LTTE was reportedly recruiting children as well as older persons, most of the people in LTTE-controlled areas were fleeing their homeland.

This was the reason for the influx of refugees and the same was also confirmed by the Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who had come to Rameswaram recently, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, said.

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