A week after a terror alert that six Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants had intruded into Tamil Nadu via Sri Lanka and set up base in Coimbatore was issued by intelligence agencies, the security cover has been scaled down slightly.
The alert had kept law enforcement on their toes for a week. Combing operations and security checks that kept the city on high alert, however, could not lead to the arrest of the six men — a suspected Pakistan national and five Tamil Muslims from Sri Lanka.
Reiterating the authenticity of the alert, sources with agencies behind the intelligence gathering and corroboration said the intruders were “assessed to have hid themselves” following wide reportage.
Inquiries unsuccessful
Though the police questioned three men in Coimbatore and two others in Ernakulam for suspected links with the six militants, they could not extract any evidence to connect them with those mentioned in the alert.
Sources said they were engaged in further intelligence gathering to reach a final conclusion on the alert according to which the six men were last spotted in Coimbatore on August 21.
Coimbatore City Police Commissioner Sumit Sharan told The Hindu on Sunday that the level of security coverage in Coimbatore city was lowered on Friday.
However, the police will continue surveillance and other intelligence operations in view of Vinayaka Chaturthi on Monday and the immersion of idols thereafter, he said. The alert said six men, including the Pakistani identified as Illyas Anwar, were in the disguise. The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health at Velankanni in Nagapattinam, Defence Services Staff College at Wellington in the Nilgiris, Air Force Station at Sulur in Coimbatore and the Sabarimala shrine in Kerala were listed as potential targets of the terrorists.