VELLORE/TIRUVANNAMALAI: Following the advisory on the intelligence reports of intrusion of six Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists into Coimbatore, the police in Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts have been put on high alert, vital installations are brought under police radar and plainclothes men keeping a vigil on important establishments and localities.
The security for the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai has been beefed up following the alert on the intrusion of terrorists.
“All the four gates to Arunachaleswarar temple are brought under strict vigil. Visitors are being frisked, baggage is being checked. Bomb detection and disposal squad men are also pressed into service in the temple premises,” MR Sibi Chakravarthy, SP, Tiruvannamalai, told Express on Friday.
Armed policemen, equipped with automatic weapons, are guarding the temple on a round-the-clock basis.
A contingent of 60 men has been deployed in the temple which is being provided with 3-tier security.
The entire district has been put on high alert with policemen holding storming operations on Thursday night, another officer said, adding that 430 persons were taken into preventive arrest during the storming operations.
Lodges, bus stands and railways stations are being closely watched by policemen, he said.
Vital installation on the radar in Vellore
According to Pravesh Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Vellore, about 400 policemen have been deployed for security and surveillance purposes across the district and vital installations are kept under close vigil.
“We are covering vital installations in the district following the security alert over the intrusion of terrorists. Pickets have been put in place at bust stands, railway stations and other public gathering places. Men in plainclothes keep a close vigil on important installations,” he told Express.
Important localities in the district have also been monitored by the district police in coordination with intelligence agencies.
On Thursday night, the police officers conducted storming operations across Vellore district. As many as 262 persons were taken into preventive arrest, 42 persons were held under special and local laws, 71 ex-convicts and property offenders were secured, Pravesh Kumar said.
Moreover, five nonbailable warrants were executed, 90 persons were bound over under 109 and 110 of CrPC.
During the storming operation, 140 lodges, 1,279 vehicles and 21 temples were checked.