THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police have beefed up security along the inter-state border with Tamil Nadu to prevent illegal movement of people across the border. Apart from the main checkposts and arterial roads, peripheral roads have also been put under the radar.
In Parassala that straddles Thiruvananthapuram district and Tamil Nadu, 27 minor peripheral points that were used for illegal crossover were identified and sealed. Similar points were identified across the state and measures were taken to plug the gaps. To prevent crossing over of people on foot and through cut roads, two-wheeler patrolling has been intensified along with drone search. Coastal police stations have also been alerted to ramp up the patrolling along the coastline.
App to curb trafficking
In a bid to prevent trafficking of people from other states into Kerala in goods vehicles, the police are set to roll out a mobile application that will help officers in the checkpoints to keep a tab on the vehicles that cross over into the state. The app that is expected to be rolled out this week will be used at all checkpoints in the state. Thiruvananthapuram Range DIG Sanjay Kumar said the details of the vehicles and its occupants will be recorded in the app by the officers on duty at the checkpoints.
“There were instances where people were smuggled into the state disguised as cleaners or assistant drivers. Such incidents can be fully prevented by using the app since the details of the vehicle and the passengers will be recorded in the centralised platform upon its entry into the state. When the vehicle exits the state, the officers can check the details of the occupants, including the driver and the cleaner, and match it with the data saved in the app.
Any irregularity can be easily spotted,” the DIG said. The move came close on the heels of reports that the illegal trafficking of people from other states to Kerala is happening. After charging an exorbitant fee, the drivers of certain goods carriers were smuggling in people under the guise of cleaners and assistant drivers. Several Covid cases that were reported in the state in recent days had something to do with this illegal trafficking.
27 minor peripheral points that were used for illegal crossover were identified and sealed in Parassala, that straddles T’Puram district and Tamil Nadu