Tight vigil in western districts of Tamil Nadu

A vehicle being searched at the Nadugani checkpoint near Gudalur on Monday.

The police have taken steps to check the intrusion of Maoists into the western districts of Tamil Nadu, after Sunday’s exchange of fire between the Kerala police and suspected Maoists in the Wayanad forests.

“Along with personnel of the Special Task Force and the Forest Department, the police have launched combing operations in the forest areas and in the villages in the districts, especially in the Udhagamandalam forests. Additional checkpoints have been erected,” K. Shankar, Inspector-General of Police, Western Zone, told journalists here on Monday.

Hospitals searched

As it was reported that some Maoists were injured in the gunfight, the police were directed to check government and private hospitals, he said.

D. Radhakrishnan

reports from

Udhagamandalam:

Vigil has been stepped up in the Nilgiris. Collector P. Sankar told The Hindu that vehicle check was intensified in areas bordering Kerala.

Police sources said security was tightened at police stations along the Nilgiris-Kerala border.

Villagers were asked to alert the police to suspicious activities.