Sri Lankan boat seized near Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district. Photo: Special Arrangement
wWith 1,076 km of porous coastline and three state borders, Tamil Nadu is facing an increased border challenge after many years.
In recent weeks, there have been frequent intelligence warnings to the state government about possible entry of drug lords and infiltrators through the sea route. Earlier this week, a speedboat was found abandoned on the shore at Dhanushkodi in Ramanathapuram district. Intelligence agencies immediately sent an alert that the plastic boat belonged to a fisherman in Analathivu near Jaffna in Sri Lanka, and could be used to smuggle contraband or infiltrators into the country. There have been several such cases of boats being found at landing points in the coastal districts. Many of these have not led to the arrest of suspected intruders or the seizure of smuggled goods.
It is not only the arrival of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees that is a cause for concern, but also traffickers involved in drug or arms or human trafficking. Though the number of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees is low, law-enforcement agencies say there has been no respite to the activities of smugglers involved in drug and arms smuggling. In March 2021, coastal security agencies seized 301 kg of heroin, five AK 47 rifles and 1,000 rounds of 9-mm ammunition from six Sri Lankan nationals on board a ship. Ravi Hansi. The case exposed the role of some Sri Lankan nationals in the Tiruchi Special Camp (where foreign nationals facing criminal cases are lodged). An investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has revealed that the suspects were in touch with Pakistani drug lord Haji Salim, and were placing orders for large consignments of drugs to be transported by sea to Sri Lanka. The money was allegedly being raised to aid in the revival of the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Central and state intelligence agencies have also issued advisories about the People’s Liberation Army personnel who landed in Sri Lanka with satellites, drones and other high-tech communication equipment and were heard on record saying they were engaged in sea cucumber cultivation. Looking for opportunities. Chinese ‘investment’ in sea cucumber farming in northern Sri Lanka has raised security concerns as the projects are close to India’s southern coast.
Last August, the Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group had also issued an alert citing central intelligence inputs that a Chinese ship used for monitoring satellites and rockets/inter-continental missile launches was docked at Hambantota Port . The group called for adequate security arrangements in view of sensitive installations like nuclear installations and ports across the coastline.
A large number of Bangladeshi nationals have also entered India illegally through West Bengal and have settled in many parts of Tamil Nadu posing as Bengalis. Senior police officials say that these illegal immigrants posed as Indians and obtained documents like Aadhaar card, PAN card and passport.
Police officials say that around 93,000 Sri Lankan Tamils are living in refugee camps or outside (after registration) in Tamil Nadu and Odisha. “We suspect that a similar number of refugees, such as Bangladeshi immigrants, may be living illegally in the state. A senior police officer says it is difficult to track them as they must have obtained proof of address/travel documents with fake names and have been settled in those areas for many years.
While Tamil Nadu gears up to counter these cross-border challenges, fresh alerts are being issued for internal security from suspected Islamic State (IS) operatives. On the eve of Diwali last year, weeks after the Popular Front of India was banned, an LPG cylinder exploded inside a car in Coimbatore. The NIA termed it as a suspected IS module. Another suspect, who was injured in an autorickshaw blast in Mangaluru, Karnataka, had visited Tamil Nadu before the blast.
The state police is also probing intelligence inputs that more than a dozen law college students have been inducted into the CPI (Maoist) in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu. The Maoists are trying to revive the Western Ghats Special Regional Committee and establish their base in the tri-junction forests of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It is no longer enough for the Tamil Nadu Police to merely maintain law and order; They have the huge task of preventing infiltration and terrorist attacks.