Advani reviews security in Andamans

THE nascent Unified Command in the strategically located Andaman & Nicobar Islands, its importance enhanced by the Chinese presence in the n...

THE nascent Unified Command in the strategically located Andaman & Nicobar Islands, its importance enhanced by the Chinese presence in the nearby Coco Islands, got a fillip today with the Union Home Minister L.K. Advani reviewing the security scenario in the region.

The Unified Command of the Islands, headed by Vice Admiral Arun Prakash — who had a 45-minute closed-door session with Advani — exists operationally but is yet to come into top gear. For one, the infrastructure of the Command (comprising Army, Air Force, Navy and Coast Guards) so it can function cohesively is still being set up in the region. Construction work in Port Blair, though, is in full swing.

Advani stressed the importance of his talks with Prakash. Sources said since intelligence and police too worked in tandem with the Unified Command, Advani was keen to access the scenario himself for the ‘‘better stream-lining’’ of the forces.

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The role of the Coast Guard here has increased in recent times owing to a large number of poachers from nearby Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka making a huge killing annually of the area’s rich marine life.

The fact that every accused brought to Port Blair prison is interrogated by the CBI and IB sleuths stationed here is a reflection of the Home Ministry’s concerns about a possible influx of foreign militants to the region, officials held.

Coco Island, with Chinese surveillance equipment in place, is barely 40 kilometres from Landfall Island, which belongs to India.

Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are wanted in the alleged Punjab National Bank fraud case that they allegedly orchestrated through fraudulent Letters of Undertaking in connivance with some bank officials at the Brady House branch in Mumbai.

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