Chennai arrests have no links with Ahmedabad, Bangalore blasts: police

However, the agencies here still have to deal with Maoist extremists and the proscribed LTTE. A member of the militant group was caught by the police on Wednesday.

According to the police, Thambianna alias Daniel, a Lankan Tamil hailing from Killinochi in Sri Lanka, is the leader of one of the four modules procuring arms and other equipment for the LTTE from Tamil Nadu. Thambianna had developed a network for smuggling these equipment and material across the sea to Sri Lanka to aid LTTE’s war against the Lankan Government.

He was on the police radar for a whole month before being arrested from Chennai. In a related but unconnected incident, the Police arrested four LTTE members from Ramanathapuram district in coastal Tamil Nadu and seized GPS equipment, army fatigues worn by LTTE cadres and a satellite phone among other things.

The police have recently launched a fresh wave of anti-Naxal combing operations in the districts including Theni and Dharmapuri after reports of extremist presence there. ADGP for Law and Order K Vijayakumar, who led the operation that eliminated the dreaded brigand Veerappan, said the police force was enlisting the services of the Forest Department in hunting down the sleeper cells. Vijayakumar has been given charge of tackling the extremist menace in the State.

Meanwhile, the Police are continuing strict vigil on the streets of Chennai. Teams with armed policemen are conducting thorough checking of vehicles and passengers during the night. City Police Commissioner R Sekar held meetings with owners of internet parlours and lodges to make them aware of the need to know their customers before offering their services.