Karnataka coast put on high alert following Tamil Nadu terror threat

Bengaluru, Aug 26: The Coastal Security Police in coastal Malpe in Karnataka has issued a public notice asking people to be on alert in view of intelligence reports about infiltration of six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists into neighbouring Tamil Nadu, police said.

The public notice asked the people of Malpe area in Udupi to be vigilant and inform the police if they come across any suspicious-looking persons, they said.

It comes days after Tamil Nadu was put on high alert after intelligence agencies said six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists, including a Pakistani, have sneaked into the state from Sri Lanka to carry out destructive activities.

CSP Malpe Police station inspector Pramod Kumar told PTI that based on information from the intelligence, all police stations had been put on alert.

Following the intelligence input, an alert had also been sounded in Kerala, another neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

The police in Tamil Nadu, where the threat emerged from questioned several persons. The police also let one person after questioning.

An IB source informed OneIndia that the alert was sounded after the intelligence was found to be Grade A and actionable.

The IB further said that one of the operatives was a Pakistani, while the rest were Sri Lankan Tamil Muslims. The Pakistani operative goes by the name Anwar Ilyas.

The IB has asked the police to maintain a high state of alert and also said that these persons are moving around disguised as Hindus. They would be found sporting a tilak, the IB has also warned.

Further, the IB said that the terrorists would make attempts to mingle with the locals. The police have been advised to keep a close watch as these persons could use public transport to reach their destination.

The police have however advised the people not to panic and added that this is a precautionary alert. All measures have been taken to neutralise the threat, the police also said.

Coimbatore has been facing a problem of both radicalisation and terror over the past several years. Modules of the Students Islamic Movement of India and Lashkar-e-Tayiba are considered to be strong in this area.