The Coastal Police are stepping up vigil on the Arabian Sea in the wake of reports that illicit spirit is reaching the shores via the seas, and more importantly, after a nationwide alert following a threat from Al-Qaeda on its entry into the Indian subcontinent.
Large expanse City Police Commissioner H. Venkatesh, who took a boat ride from Vizhinjam to review the situation on the 12-nautical mile expanse that has to be manned by the Coastal Police in the district, said preventive measures, including intensification of patrolling, were being initiated.
“There were reports that illicit spirit was being brought ashore via the sea. Also, keeping in mind the Al-Qaeda threat, we decided to step up our coastal watch,” Mr. Venkatesh told The Hindu .
He was accompanied by D. Vijayan, Assistant Commissioner (Special Branch), and police officials from the Vizhinjam and Coastal police stations. The police will be carrying weapons, including INSAS rifles and light machine guns, on its three boats- a 12-tonne boat and two five-tonne boats. Apart from this, the State government’s efforts to have more coastal police stations, which would include one at Thumba in the district, too were being expedited, Mr. Venkatesh said.
As of now, the capital district has only one coastal police station to monitor the coastal belt starting from Kollengode near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border and stretching up to Kappil near Varkala. Daily patrolling was already on but would require more attention now with coastal security becoming a major issue, he said.
