Thiruvananthapuram: Security has been stepped up across Kerala following a intelligence reports of a terror gang possibly heading towards the coastal city of Kochi, a police official said Monday.
There were specific reports of a group of suspected LTTE cadre landing in a boat at Thyckal Beach in the district on Monday.
The security alert was sounded after local fishermen claimed to have seen a group of uniformed persons approaching the beach in a boat.
Director General of Police Jacob Punnose said a vigorous search has been launched jointly by police, Coast Guard and the Navy in the coastal area.
"There is an information on this. We are verifying it. Unless we came across something concrete, we cannot say the information is correct or not. So far, we have not located anybody," Punnose was quoted by PTI as saying.
Inspector General of Police Arun Kumar Sinha, however, denied media reports that it was a gang of the LTTE and that they had arrived on the coast near Shertallai, near Alappuzha, and were heading towards Kochi.
"What I can say is that there is an intelligence report to this effect. The coastal areas in and around Kochi are being combed. But there is no high alert in the state," Sinha told IANS.
A special group of commandos led by Kochi Police Commissioner Manoj Abraham was checking all vehicles between Alappuzha and Kochi.
Security has been stepped up in vital spots including major temples like Sabarimala, where devotees had gathered for the annual festival of the temple, sources said.
Naval sources in Kochi said Naval helicopters were conducting searches following reports about some "suspicious activities" around Alapuzha-Kochi coast.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI)
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