The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : “Intelligence agencies had warned of sea attacks”

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Saturday, Nov 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

“Intelligence agencies had warned of sea attacks”

S. Vijay Kumar

Navy, Coast Guard officials meet to plan strategy

CHENNAI: Central intelligence agencies had passed on specific inputs that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) had established ‘Sea Wing’ as part of a terrorist module, Director General of Police, Civil Defence, who is also in-charge of Coastal Security Group, Jagan M. Seshadri, has said.

“We had this information in as early as March 2007. The central intelligence had warned of terrorism via sea routes. It is on this premise that the Coastal Security Group in Tamil Nadu has been working,” he told ‘The Hindu’ here on Friday.

The CSG had addressed thousands of fishermen in coastal districts in the recent months appealing to them to share information on “strange” things happening on the sea. “We wanted them to alert us on strangers and ships anchored in unusual areas. Besides the ‘LeT’, there was a warning that other terrorist organisations were also planning to start sea wings. Hence, we focussed on taking the fishermen community into confidence.”

Mr. Seshadri who chaired a high-level meeting of Navy and Coast Guard officials here on Friday to devise strategies in the backdrop of the terrorist attack in Mumbai said steps had been taken to ensure that all boats entering the sea along the south-eastern coast were identified.

“We want to do this with the help of Fisheries, Customs and Forest Departments. The possibility of terrorists gaining entry to the main land through sea routes has to be prevented. The CSG has intensified surveillance on uninhabited islands in the Gulf of Mannar, shallow waters and landing points where the movement of strangers can be easily located. We are strengthening our intelligence gathering mechanism,” he said. It was decided upon that the Navy would take CSG personnel on patrol boats (for joint patrolling) in the coastal districts of Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Pudukottai while the Coast Guard would do the same in Ramanathapuram, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts. Efforts are also on to issue photo identity cards to all fishermen and permit only those authorised to enter the sea for fishing by requesting the Fisheries Department. The officers also felt the need the need to regulate the number of fishing vessels from security point of view. Commodore Philip Van Haltren, Naval Officer-in-Charge, B.S. Yadav, Commander, Coast Guard, VHQ5, K.P. Maghendran, Inspector General of Police (CSG) took part in the meeting.

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